Our Life Line

During the last thirty three years of living in Idaho I have done several things to put food on the table. I have worked in sawmills, cleaned chimneys, sold feed supplements, owned a janitorial business, landscaping, general tractor work, and wood carving. I tell people that I have done nearly anything legal. Last week a friend asked if I could repair cedar siding on a lady’s house. The siding on some of the second floor dormers had warped and cracked in need of repair before her house could be painted. So I took over all the necessary tools and ladders. Part of the repair was above the metal patio roof which wasn’t too hard until I had to use an eight foot ladder to reach the top boards. The ladder wanted to slide as soon as I started climbing up it. So I got my sweet wife talked into getting on the roof with me to hold the ladder. Ardella panicked a little but tried to hold the ladder for me. It wanted to slide down the metal roof.

The next day I took a young guy with me and he was barely able to hold the ladder but we finally finished the repairs on the metal roof. I told Eddie he could leave as the other repair required a rope thrown over the steep garage roof so it could be tied to a tree. Next I put on a harness and attached myself to the rope and climbed the ladder. I had to slowly work my way up the steep pitch allowing the rope to take all my weight. With my hands free I was able to get the repairs finished sooner than I thought I would. Because I have used the same system to remove snow from roofs at the ski mountain, I felt perfectly safe hanging two stories above the ground. It is amazing to put such trust in a nylon rope and harness.

I got to thinking about how God wants to be our life line; not just when we are in trouble but everyday. We can put our entire life in his hands and know He will keep us safe. You know what the trouble is? Many of us refuse to let God be our life line. Especially guys; now men you know what I’m talking about. Men want to do it their way; I have tried and have often fallen off the roof of life. Why do men have trouble letting God into their daily activities? For some it is pride, others may have had problems trusting their earthly father so why trust God. I’m afraid for many it is just plain arrogance, a hard heart.

Jesus taught his disciples they should call God Abba Father. What that means in Hebrew is Daddy. If you have never addressed God as Daddy, try it. It will break down the religious dogma that many of us learned when we were young. God wants to be a relationship to us not a religion. Our prayers do not have to be eloquent; just keep them from the heart. God hears us from our heart. I can tell you firsthand that keeping God as a religion for so many years in my life was a big mistake. MY LIFE WAS DULL AND BORING! When I realized that God wanted to take part in every day of my life; my life was transformed. That doesn’t mean all my troubles disappeared but now I know I have a life line.