Elephant on a High Wire

                “Oops!”  That word is a big part of my vocabulary.  It doesn’t take much to send me careening through the air.  If we do have guardian angels, mine would be stressed and overworked. 

  So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” Daniel 6:16 (NIV)

                Okay, I wasn’t going into the Lion’s Den like Daniel did; instead, I was going into my Cousin Juanita’s den.  It was downstairs and her kitchen was upstairs.  Do you see where I’m going with this?  Somebody handed me two full glasses of tea for me to take downstairs.  I don’t know why anybody who knows me would hand me anything and expect me to make it safely down a flight of stairs.  That’s like asking an elephant to walk on a high wire; technical possible, but not a good idea.

My cousin Doug was sitting in a chair next to the bottom step.  I was afraid I’d trip and spill tea on him, so as I started down, I told myself, “Just goes slow and careful.”  Uh…it didn’t work.  A couple of steps from the top, I felt my left foot catch behind my right one.  I started down, but I managed to keep myself upright as I plummeted down the steps.  I remember my feet touching some of the steps, but I flew over most of them.  

                As I stumbled down, I gained momentum.  When I reached the floor, I went straight down on my knees.  With all that energy, I continued to slide until I came to a stop behind Doug’s chair.  All you could see behind him were my arms sticking up and my hands still grasping the glasses. I didn’t spill a drop!  Best of all, I wasn’t hurt and Doug didn’t get soaked. Too bad somebody didn’t have a video camera.  I could have won $10,000.

                I know my little trip doesn’t compare to Daniel being thrown in with hungry lions, but the same God who rescued Daniel also watches out for me and for you.   If you notice, King Darius wanted Daniel’s God to save him, which He did.  Also notice the phrase, “whom you serve continually.”    Daniel didn’t just serve God when it was convenient for him and he didn’t quit praying to God because of an unfair law.  Daniel was faithful to God and God was faithful to him.  Want to know the best part?  It’s the same for us today, except for the lions.