Jake’s Big Itch

Boy, oh, boy, oh, boy! Taylor lived on a farm. He and his brother, Antonio, had the greatest places to play! There were bushes and trees and blackberry vine thickets. And all over were little paths that Taylor and Antonio had made.

“Don’t get in the poison oak plants,” Taylor said. He pointed to a lot of green bushes.

Jake wasn’t sure what he meant. They were playing army; and if he wasn’t careful, he would get shot. BLAM! That shot almost got him! In fact, it knocked him down and over. He tore through the bushes. Brrrrrrrrrrk! Antonio was shooting at him. Jake dived off the path.

The time to go home came too soon. They were just getting started! As Jake was riding home in the car, he began to itch on his legs. Scratching didn’t do any good. Then he began to itch on his stomach. His face felt fiery red. His neck itched. Even his head itched under his hair.

His mother and daddy insisted he take a bath. For once, Jake was ready to take a bath. His skin was red all over. It itched dreadfully.

The poison oak plant has a juice inside its stem, its roots, and leaves which is very irritating to the human skin. Just barely touching the leaves can produce a itchy rash. The juice is an oily liquid which does not wash away easily. It gets on clothes or shoes. It stays on the seat of the car and cause itchiness for days.

When Jake took a bath, the water actually spread his poison oak rash. The poison oak oil floated in the water and began to irritate his skin in new places. Then it got on his pajamas. Then it got on the sheets of his bed.

Some people are more bothered by poison oak than others. Some are so bothered that they cannot sleep at night near the plant. They can catch it from the faint traces of it in the air. Some have burned poison oak plants and caught the rash from the oil in the smoke of the fire.

I knew a lady who had no fear of poison oak. She said that she had walked through poison ivy, and it had not bothered her at all. So she paid no attention to poison oak. Too bad! The poison oak paid attention to her. She had an awful case of poison oak. Big runny sores broke out on her legs.

Poison oak is like sin. If we touch sin and fool around with it, it will infect us. We will get into great trouble. Once sin has got us, it is nearly impossible to get rid of it. It is better to stay away from sin. It is better to have nothing to do with any sin.

Another lady that I knew got into some poison ivy. I think she was clearing some land for a garden, and she did not know what it could do to her. She had it all over and suffered a whole lot. While she was lying in bed, some ministers came to pray for her. God heard their prayers. To the amazement of all, the swelling went down before their eyes, the rash departed, and she was made well by the power of God.

God can make you well of sin as well as poison ivy. He can clean you up, clean up your house, and keep you out of sin, as well.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”* (1 John 1:9)