Oh, what a beautiful morning! I had a dream last night that took me back to my childhood spending time at my grandpa and grandma’s house. What a joyous dream! As I was sitting enjoying my coffee this morning, my mind dwell on my childhood with my grandma and how I loved spending time with her.
I have one really vivid memory of when I was about five or six years old. Being the youngest, my siblings were all in school, my mama at work and I was at my grandma’s house playing outside, trying to entertain myself and on the front porch I found a rope, probably left there by my grandpa. Now a rope for a young boy five or six means an adventure and I started looking for a mountain to clilmb.
Now my grandparents had two trees in their front yard, one straight and branches were high, completelly our of reach for such a small man, oh but there was the other one, the perfect mountain to climb. This tree branched off about a couple of feet off the ground and one limb protruded up and out just the right length to sit on, becoming the king of the mountain with my rope at my side!
So I conquered the mountain, still on my venture but what next? Oh, yes, the rope! I decided I could tie the rope to the limb and make a swing out of it, but then I realized I couldn’t swing on without slipping off and falling thus ending my adventure in doom. Was there another way? Ahh, the true man come out of me when I decided I could tie the rope around my ankle, then slide off the limb, swing up side down then reach up and grab the limb and pull myself back up to safety, yes! I had a plan!
So this brave little me did just that, I tied the rope around my ankle, slid off the limb and there I dangled seeing the world upside down, what a climax to my adventure! After hanging there a couple minutes, I decided it was time to pull myself back up and that’s when disaster happened. I couldn’t pull my body back up high enough to grap the limb! Now what was I going to do? As I struggled to reach the branch, the rope tightened on my ankle, causing pain to shoot up my leg. Fear filled my heart, am I going to die? Not being able to hold back the tears, I cried out as loud as I could, “Grandma”!
In an instant, there she was standing behind the screen door and seeing the situation, she was at the tree in a flash. She lifted my up, untied the rope and now I was again that little five to six year old boy, safe in the arms of grandma, smothered in love. A tragic adventure saved by love!
How many times does this very thing happen in our lives? We go out and do stupid things, thinking I’m in control, I’v got this, only to realize it’s headed for disaster and at the last minute we cry out, “Jesus help me!” And there He is, in a flash, with open arms of love, untying the ropes of bondage, freeing us saying, “Come unto me and I will give you my rest, peace, joy and love!
Just a true story, a thought, just saying!
by Jim Kennedy