The Risks We Take By Liz Huggins-Thompson

I stood on the top step of the ladder. On the very top it read DANGER. DO NOT STAND OR SIT. I stretched to reach the tree branches with my pruning shears. That one branch was just out of reach. I looked at the message again.  Maybe if I hooked my arm over this sturdy limb... As the bark dug into my bare skin, I was suddenly reminded of a time when we were kids.

We were at a family picnic. My parents warned us not to go into the woods. Not that we were so rebellious, but my sister, Rosie, and I were the adventurous sort. There were some great rocks for climbing. I reasoned that if we stayed near the edge of the tree line, we weren't really IN the woods. So, up the cliff we climbed.
What a view from the top! Thrilling.

It wasn't but a few minutes into our adventure, Rosie spotted a frog. Chasing after it, she slipped and grabbed onto a small sapling just in time before going over the edge. In doing so, one of the small branches poked right into her bicep. Somehow, she managed to keep a hold of that frog, but wow, there was a lot of blood from her arm. I ran back down to get some napkins. It wasn't long before the truth came out, though.

I looked at the message on the top of the ladder again. I would have to climb back down the ladder, reposition it, climb back up, and try again for that pesky branch.

God gives us guidelines and His law to live by. Why do we think we have a better way, or that we can ease the rules a bit to suit our wants?

"He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way." Psalm 25:9.

I didn't prune the elusive branch, but we named that frog Freddy. He lived a good life in a terrarium we made from a huge peanut butter jar.