I like sharing memories of an old house I bought several years ago. My main reason for sharing those memories is to talk about Jesus and the remodeling he does in us, and the redoing of some of those closed-off rooms in our lives.
As I think about that old house, another fun memory came to mind and I must share it with you. I believe you’ll like this one. At the very least, you will think I had a few screws loose in my head. I still think back to those days and thank God for being alive and that no one was injured.
Behind my old house on my double lot, stood two giant oak trees side by side to the rear of the property along the fence line. Each stood upwards of at least 100 feet high. You might think they were sprawling trees, but basically, they consisted more of a long trunk with some tree toppers at the top. The base of the tree was at least 6 to 8 feet in diameter, so this wasn’t a miniature tree. These trees had been in the ground for a very long time.
The problem with these trees is because of their height and their age, they would sway to and fro during storms.
This concerned me greatly, especially during hurricane season, and so I made the decision to take them down.
The other reason for taking them down was to make room for the above ground pool I was putting in. That is another story and worth sharing.
The challenge was to get the trees down for little or no cost. That would mean I would have to take them down myself. Being the arborist that I was back then, NOT, all I had to do was get a good chainsaw and someone gutsy enough to climb the tree and start cutting.
God knew my desire. He heard my prayer and sent over one of the nicest guys I ever met – my neighbor across the street. This guy was afraid of nothing, least of all heights and a chainsaw. At a towering height of 5′ 4″, the tree was no match for him or his arborist skills (He had as much tree trimming skills as I did). And so began the adventure of taking down two 100 foot trees in my back yard.
When we set out to do something, we should plan as much as possible before starting. We should think about the implications and at the very least, we should seek out wisdom from God on how to handle the situation. I did none of that in this situation.
Tomorrow, I will continue to share this story as you’re not going to believe what happened. I can laugh about it now, but back then, it wasn’t very funny. All I can say is I am so grateful to God now. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as thankful back then. I didn’t realize God was watching over us or that this story would make the morning radio talk show.
Did you know God watches over you? Well, he does. When no one else will, God is faithful and does. I am reminded of a verse I probably should have memorized back then, but I wasn’t into reading the Bible very much then.
Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”
Here’s another one to ponder from Psalms 33:13-15, ” From the heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind, from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth – he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.”
Father, I’m so thankful you watch over us. You are the good shepherd and you watch over your sheep. I didn’t know it at the time Lord. You were present in our lives then and you are now. Today, I thank you and I ask forgiveness for my failures. Lord, give me the wisdom to carry on. I love you so much Lord, I want to follow you with everything I am. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
In His Service
Jeanette
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