Rope Burns

Traveler’s Tip #339
“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
      ― Ernest Hemingway
           
 

“I’ve thought about it,” Luke said. “I’m hanging on to a rope a thousand feet in the air over rocks, and I’m losing my grip. Losing it fast. I’m asking you, Mort, what am I supposed to do? I need to know. I need answers.”
            “That’s an easy one, Lukeollis. You got to let go of the rope. You fall and you trust.”
            “See, Reverend, that doesn’t help. I need real, what to do right now in the physical world, answers. Not your spiritual stuff.”
            “No, you don’t, boy. You need what I’m giving you. You need to let go of the rope. Nothin’ else.”
            “That simple, huh?”
            “Yup. That simple.”
            “It might be a long drop.”
            “You’d be surprised...”     

    - from THE MIRACLE MAN
 
 
The book of Proverbs tells us to Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
 
I’ve been there, have you? I can see the rocks below. The waves are crashing. My hands are tired and my arms are shaking. I slip down the rope a little—then a little more. I remember the old saying—Tie a knot and hang on! I'm not sure whoever came up with that saying ever actually hung on a rope... How am I supposed to tie a knot when I need every bit of my strength just to keep from falling? Plus, even if I managed it, I have a nagging suspicion it would wind up looking more like a hangman’s noose than a square knot.
 
            “Jesus?” I call.
            “Yes?”
            “Where are you?”
            “Everywhere.”
            “I’m tired.”
            “I know. Let go.”
            “It’s a long way down.”
            “Not really.”
            “Hang on, maybe I can figure something out…”
            “You can’t…”
           
A thousand thoughts fly through my brain. What if I’m wrong? What if he lets me go? Man, I’ve really done it this time…again. What if he’s mad?
 
But in the end my strength fails. It always fails. Hands bloody with stubbornness, I finally slip.
 
And fall…
 
…into the arms of my Friend.
           
            “Don’t drop me,” I say, looking down at the rocks again.
            “Do I ever?”
            “No, but I did hang for a long time—on my own. Where were you? It would have been easier to let go if I’d have seen you down here.”
             He laughs. “You don’t know by now to look up? Who do you think was holding the top end of the rope in the first place?”
 
Look up, my friends. The beginning is near. And like Mort says – He ain’t gonna leave you hanging…
 
Fair winds,
Buck 

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