Underneath

I still remember my favorite jacket: it was red, warm, with ribbed knit sleeves & collar, a Donald Duck motif decorating the breast. It was while the 3J's wore these matching jackets & went shopping that the following event happened.

My younger sister put out her foot in front of me. Normally, I would've been able to stop, but this time I ended up tripping over it; since both hands were in my pockets, I was unable to stop myself from falling. I must've hit my ribs hard & got windknocked; when I got up, I found it difficult to breathe.

"Junie, are you okay?" Daddy asked me.

"I...can't...breathe" I remember saying before passing out. When I regained consciousness, Daddy was standing behind me, holding me up by my elbows, & I was groaning & stomping my feet--the body's automatic effort to breathe?

God, I realized, is always there supporting us...even when we're not conscious of it!

"The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. 33:27a)