As a preacher’s kid, it seemed like we were always the last people to leave church every Sunday morning. I was a ‘Tomboy’, and got bored hanging around waiting for my parents. My mom always had us wear dresses to church. One Sunday, I decided to wear some shorts under my favorite dress. As always, after church my parents were hanging around talking to everyone that attended church that day. Although my dad told me never to climb the trees in the parking lot, a couple of my friends and I climbed as high as we could in the biggest tree we could find. It was so much fun, and a little bit scary. Way too soon, one of my sisters came running around the corner yelling ‘its time to go’. I was so afraid my dad would catch me in the tree, I decided to jump! The next thing I knew, I was flying! Well, I was actually dangling… from a lower branch in that tree. The hem of my dress got caught on a branch on the way down. As I hung from that branch, suspended in midair, all I could think about is my dad is going to kill me! While I contemplated how to get down, I heard something rip, and down I fell. This was not an option that I had even considered! I found myself lying face down in the grass, and slowly began to make sure all my limbs were attached, only to find the back of my favorite dress was split most of the way up my back. How would I explain the rip in my dress? I knew I had to tell the truth, and pay the consequences.
On the way home from church, I had to explain to everyone in the car that I climbed the tree, tried to jump out of the tree, and that crazy tree grabbed me by my dress, and dangled me 7 or 8 feet off the ground! To my surprise, my dad thought it was the funniest story he had heard. Don’t get me wrong, I still had consequences to pay, but we laughed all the way home, making fun of my poor decision of climbing the tree.
So many times we know God tells us what to do, but we don’t see the harm in doing things our way. Whether it’s climbing a tree in a dress, or trying to jump out of a tree, or doing both at the same time, there is a reason to do what we are told. God has asked us to follow Him.
John 8:12 “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”
God has given us instructions for a reason. He knows what we need. He knows what’s best for us. Sometimes we don’t understand, or we don’t know why God asks us to do things like not climb trees in a dress. We need to trust that He knows what He is talking about, and He wants to make sure we don’t get caught hanging in a tree. The best part is when we are hanging from those branches, God’s amazing grace covers us. You know God has a sense of humor, and laughs at us and with us when we fall, just like my dad laughed at me.
