Out On a Limb

            Growing up, my Grandparent’s farm had an oak tree that probably was as old as the nation.  It was a sight to behold.  As the official largest tree in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, us grandchildren would proudly tell our teachers in school of it, and boast of its size.  My sister Mary was even featured in a newspaper article with a shot of her and the tree, depicting its massive trunk in comparison to her tiny body.  Often when we were growing up, my cousins and I would meet up at Grandma’s house and then head over the hill and through the cow pasture to go check out the tree.  We spent countless hours meandering through the shallow creek that ran though the forest beside it searching for salamanders and crawfish.  It was a constant adventure for us.  I suppose that things are much different now for kids growing up, as technology has replaced much of what we all thought was fun.  To us, it didn’t get any better.  We couldn’t wait for the next chance to take a hike back to the tree again the next week.

            Not only for us cousins, but our parent’s generation also loved spending time by the tree.  They would all reunite for family picnics and Gram and Pap would get an old hay wagon fixed up with the best spread of picnic food you could find. Then they would drive it back to the giant oak each spring for a picnic around Memorial Day.  Our family is fairly large, and so a wagon of food was necessary.  Beside’s that, what cooler way to feed a group of people than parking a hay wagon in the shade for a table?

            Year after year we would picnic underneath the giant. Those were great times.  The tree means much more to us than bark and wood. In some ways it almost became personified.  It was a very special place.

            I guess our lives must have crossed paths with the old oak’s when it was at its end.  In the last decade or so the tree took on heavy damage from pests and such.  Sadly, the tree has recently died and become a frail memory of what was, though the image and grandeur of it still remains in our minds.  We have often wondered what the big tree had lived through to tell of.  I suppose that at one time even Native Americans enjoyed the same shade we did.  I’m glad we had all the memories there when we could.

            One memory in particular, was the annual branch pictures that were taken. Through the years the same photo would be taken.  The kids involved may have changed, but the same timeless photo was staged and enjoyed.  Parents would lift up my cousins and I onto one of the low hanging, mighty arms of the tree.  The tree was big enough to hold a ton of us.  A whole string of kids would all pose for a photo as they all thought they were the coolest thing around for being able to get up on the thick branch.  Smiles, laughter, and funny faces could all be made as kids sat on a bench in the sky.  For some special reason, those images are still etched in my mind.

            Lately, my life has been nothing short of an adventure. In the recent months, year, God has taken me from someone who was so broken he didn’t even have the courage to dream of any positive possibilities for his life, to someone who absolutely can’t believe what God is doing with him now.  He took me from zero self-esteem to someone confidently walking on God’s path. It has been nothing short of astounding. Each day it seems that I awake to something unbelievable.  From the incredibly dark place I was in while grieving the loss of my health post-accident, to the discovery of a purpose that I never knew I had, God has shown me that when we trust in Him, He is faithful to take us to great places.... even if they seem scary at the time.  With our human eyes, we can’t see ahead to the good things in store for us.  We have finite minds, finite thoughts.  God is infinitely better at dreaming for you than any short-sided vision we possess of our own.  

Will you trust Him to do your dreaming for you?

            When we can’t see far enough ahead in our lives to be able to tell what God is doing, or realize that God knows best, we might feel like we are stuck “out on a limb.”  In similar fashion to my cousins and I being on the arms of the big oak, being put there by our parents, and having no power on our own to get up or get down, we are at the mercy of the God who is guiding our life.  The moments in life when you feel to be in this place, as being stuck on a limb, they aren’t necessarily the most fun ones to go through.  It can be confusing, especially if you can’t see God standing there with you.  It can be daunting if you don’t see Him moving in your situation.  Sometimes it can be downright scary.  Just like a kid on a tree branch, you feel vulnerable, exposed, susceptible to the taunting voices of others, and at risk of danger.  To fall would not be good.

            I can assure you that even though it seemed high, thrilling, and dangerous for us kids, our parents who were standing right there under us weren’t the slightest bit worried.  They would never let us fall to the ground.  They were our safety net.  It wasn’t dangerous to them because they had the strength to catch us if we slipped and were tall enough to reach us when we didn’t.  Our high and thrilling seat in the skies wasn’t so high or scary to them.  Their perspective was much different than ours.  

Aren’t you glad the one who guides your steps can see with a better perspective than you can?

            The Lord does things much in the same way.  You might think that you are teetering on the brink of disaster, danger, or despair, but God is standing right beside you. You might think you are stuck out on a limb, but the Lord is graciously under you, teaching you how to climb.  The things that you might learn by being stuck in tricky spots might seem like things you wished you could learn another way, but the Lord, like a parent, is smiling as you have your big moment of maturity.  If you are scared, take the Lord’s words to heart.  Use them as something to stand on.  He promises to be there when we are afraid to fall.

Psalms 40:1-2

I waited patiently for the Lord;

he inclined to me and heard my cry.

He drew me up from the pit of destruction,

out of the miry bog,

and set my feet upon a rock,

making my steps secure.        

Psalm 18:35-36

You have given me the shield of your salvation,

and your right hand supported me,

and your gentleness made me great.

You gave a wide place for my steps under me,

and my feet did not slip.

Psalm 31:7-8

I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love,

because you have seen my affliction;

you have known the distress of my soul,

and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;

you have set my feet in a broad place.

Psalm 66:8-9

Bless our God, O peoples;

let the sound of his praise be heard,

who has kept our soul among the living

and has not let our feet slip.

            You see in just the right time, the Lord is and will be there for you.  When we call to Him, just like a kid stuck high in a tree, He waits underneath us with outstretched arms and a big smile.  He can see the whole picture, and He isn’t intimidated by the limited perspective that we have.  Just because we are frightened or threatened by the height of our situation, the Lord never is.  He still is in control and will establish a nice and stable platform for you to stand on when all the monkey business of climbing is over.

            Another illustration might serve well with this point. One day when we were kids, my friend Max came over to play.  We decided to climb trees in the yard.  Max got so high in the one maple that he was afraid to come back down.  “Stuck” out on a limb, we had to go and get a neighbor to climb up and help him down.  

Looking back, it seems kind of funny.  But when you are in that moment, all you can see is the fear of falling. Fear can lock us in place in the very spot that the Lord is allowing us to learn and grow in.  When we get into these troublesome moments, we can do the same with the Lord as Max did with our neighbor.  Look to Jesus.  Look for help.  It’s a call of action.

Are you currently in a situation you feel as “stuck out on a limb?”  The best way to handle it is to get ahold of Jesus and ask Him for some help.  Ask Him to climb up and help you down.  Ask Him to stand underneath with His arms open.  Ask Him to stand beside you so that you aren’t afraid of how high you are. Turn to Him to be your safety net, your confidence, and pray these scriptures.  Instead of trying to do things on your own, and only seeing fear and panic, call out to God.  He will be there just like He promised.  Let Him show you how big of a “broad place” He can set your feet on.  Learn from the moment.  Trust in the Lord.

            When you do, instead of fearing heights, you’ll be able to enjoy the view.

            I want to enjoy the view.

By Chuck Carr.