I was reminiscing the other day with some friends and we were discussing great stories about our children and I wanted to share this one with you.
Let’s take a walk down memory lane in the deep south of Louisiana…
We had just moved into a new house in my hometown and purchased the boys a bunk bed for their room. Our two sons were 2 and 4 years old at the time and 100% little boys and full of energy. Within minutes of setting the bunk bed up… they were up and down the ladder, giggling, pushing and wrestling on the top and bottom bunks.
These boys had no fear in them so momma, had to put a little fear in them if you know what I mean. I had to sit them down and firmly express how dangerous the ladder and top bunk could be if they were not safe. Of course, I had to reiterate the warnings often.
Several weeks later we were home alone and there was a bad storm with lightning and thunder all around us. I was on the phone with a neighbor, because the lights had gone off a couple of times. The boys had been playing in their room and all of sudden, I could see Gavin running down the hall towards me stuttering over his words, because he was trying to tell me that Jeno was in trouble. I ran back to the room with him and there was Jeno… hanging by his head from the ladder and his feet were dangling, because he couldn’t reach the step. So quickly, I raised his little body up and tried to un-lodge his head from in between the ladder… but his head was clearly stuck. So I pulled and twisted and nearly ripped his poor little ears off, but I was able to get him out without any residual trauma. Jeno was tough as a billy goat and Gavin saved the day… the story of our lives with these two rambunctious ninja turtles.
Needless to say, my blood pressure was through the roof and I was out of warnings… so I sat them down and told them this would NEVER happen again, because I was going to solve the problem TONIGHT. They were staring at me with those BIG BLUE EYES and waiting for the conclusion of a real life story.
They couldn’t imagine how I would solve it and especially tonight, so they followed me outside and they stood under the garage… I went outside in the middle of the storm to the storage building and brought out a large handsaw. They were so excited as if they were watching a movie unfold. I went back in the room and pulled the bunk beds down to the floor and began sawing the bunk beds in two. Now, the boys were having a blast to see the outcome and moving quickly to assist me with every need. As the hours passed by, they kept patting me on the back and telling me how strong I was and how proud they were of me. I was DETERMINED… finally, I had sawed through each wooden frame and we no longer had bunk beds but TWO TWIN BEDS. They celebrated, jumping up and down and hugged me tight, as I was exhausted… but to them, I was a HERO. This is funny but a very true story.
The scripture in John 15:1-2 states, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.”
Just as I cut away the bunk bed, our Father is a vinedresser that will cut away the branches in our lives that can cause harm, danger, or they may not produce fruit at all. Some things in our lives seem like fun, but they are putting our lives at risk and will cost us more than we are willing to pay. Trust our Heavenly Father and don’t fight the process when He is removing our branches or pruning them… it is for our own good and we will in turn produce and bear more fruit for the Kingdom… and you will stand and see that Jesus is truly your HERO.
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