Fruit from the Tree

I’m a klutz-a big one! That’s probably no surprise to any of you who have seen me fall, trip and walk into doors and walls. But, I come by it naturally. You know the old saying; “Fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree.” So who did I take this wonderful ability from? My late Papaw.

Papaw was doing something klutzy all the time. One day he was driving through his fields to check on his cows when he drove his old farm truck into a trench. The trench was so deep that his truck was almost straight up and the back wheels were high off the ground.

Papaw had a pin in his femur from another accident he had a few years earlier and he couldn’t walk as well as he used to. He still had to climb out of his truck and walk across the fields to get back to the road to get back home. It was a long walk and he didn’t have his cane.

My mother had come by to check on my grandparents and Mamaw was worried that Papaw hadn’t got back yet. So my mother got in her car and drove down the road. She found Papaw struggling as he walked up the road. Mom picked him up and drove him home. He was visibly shaken and didn’t know how he had gotten out of his truck or walked as far as he did without his cane. My mother’s answer was elegant and simple, “Daddy, you didn’t walk alone.”

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, [a] I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4 (NIV).
Papaw made it without his cane since God was walking with him and He had his rod and staff. Whether we realize it or not, God is always with us and ready to give us comfort. There is no need for us to fear, even if we drive our vehicles in a trench.