by Ricky Doc Sauceda
I posted a story about how my uncle used to tie me up when I was a toddler. He told me I used to get loose somehow - all I remember is one of these times. I remember crying and I called out to God for help. The ropes fell off and the next thing I needed to do was be free. I didn't like that I was being mistreated. I wanted to feel safe.
I opened the door to the hallway in my grandma's ranch style house. I made my way to the bedroom in the front. There was an adjacent living room and my elderly uncle and aunts were watching television, so it wasn't too late in the evening. This was the era of the early 1960 era when television stations went off air around 10 p.m. I kept an eye on them as I slowly pried the door open. Uncle Charlie was nowhere in sight; he had probably left to carouse the streets with his friends.
I found myself in the front yard and was elated to be free from the watch of people who would allow me to be mistreated. I made my way through several city blocks of Raymondville, Texas - where my family was living at the time. My mom and dad were from this small Rio Grande Valley town. They were born there, grew up there, fell in love there, married there and had established a simple life there now. And here was their little son, Ricky, roaming the streets at night without their being aware.
I passed the grocery store where my daddy used to hunt for scraps of food as a young man, I passed the downtown strip - about two blocks. I walked over the railroad tracks, across business highway 77, and then up the steps to a small neighborhood store owned by a man and his wife. I couldn't talk much because I was a toddler. The couple was very nice to me and they picked me up and sat me on the counter. They gave me some food to eat. They also called the Raymondville Police Department to alert them a little boy had wandered into their store from the street. They had no idea who he was, who his parents were or what to do with him.
The dispatcher that answered the phone was sincerely concerned about this. She called out over the radio to the patrolman on duty, who happened to have a good friend in the car riding along with him at the time. "There is a little boy who has wandered into the little store on business highway 77 near Hidalgo Avenue. Please go and check on this."
They drove to the store. The patrolman and the passenger were stunned at what they saw. The patrolman was my godfather and the passenger was my father. The patrolman called the dispatcher,"You aren't going to believe this. It's Ricky, Mary Jane." The dispatcher was my mom.
After that night, I didn't have any more issues with being afraid. But, look at the events a bit closer. The ropes fell off, I walked safely across city streets, over railroad tracks and a business highway. How did I know where to go?
Matthew 10:29
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.
God watches over us - all the time. Even when we are a toddler wearing only a diaper and no shoes. Amen.