Tether Yourself To The One That Will Control Your Fall

I saw a tree being cut down in my neighborhood while I was taking a walk one day this week. That’s not uncommon for trees in residential neighborhoods to be cut down but with this one they were using a crane to help bring it down. It was too close to the surrounding houses for someone to just climb up and saw away at the limbs. It needed to be done just right. The whole thing really got my attention in a way that typical tree removal doesn’t.

In this case, a section of the tree is secured to the crane first. Next, it’s cut. Then the crane operator moves it over to a safe area to put it down where they finish mulching it up. It brought to mind the term, controlled fall. That’s not exactly a true fall but you get the idea. The tree is coming down and the crane is making sure it gets down safely where it needs to be without causing unnecessary or collateral damage.

As I pondered the controlled fall, God put on my heart that it’s the same when are parenting our children and when we submit our lives to Him.

One of my children is currently learning a lesson about disappointment. Something he really wanted didn’t happen. My job as his mother is to control the fall. I don’t want to allow his spirit to be entirely broken. That would cause irreparable damage and might even injure those of us near him. At the same time, I would do him a disservice by protecting him from a fall that has the potential to teach an invaluable life lesson that I’m certain he needs to learn.

It’s a fine line for a parent to walk. Controlling the fall is super important while they’re growing, developing, and learning. Letting them fall is a difficult, but we can’t and shouldn’t protect them from everything. Sometimes we simply must figure out how to control the fall. Perhaps parents are as much crane operators as anything.

The reality is what I’m doing for my children is the same thing God is doing for His. As a grownup who has my faith in the Lord, I trust Him to control my falls. I don’t want to slip and fall, but it’s a safe bet that I will from time to time. I think about being tethered to God, like those big tree limbs were to that crane and just can’t get that picture out of my mind.

Psalm 94:18-19 (NKJV) helps us see that picture. “If I say, ‘My foot slips,’ your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up. In the multitude of my anxieties within me, your comforts delight my soul.”

I love the point-blank imagery of God holding us up when we slip. He is controlling the fall. I like thinking that He is the crane and has me securely attached. It’s not just comforting to know that He won’t let me freefall but that He controls the landing and places us safely where we need to be. Our struggles can produce much growth if we let the Lord work.

I can think of many times when I’ve made mistakes and stumbled. I can also think of times when I simply got caught and knocked down in a passing storm. Had I not been connected to God in those times the outcomes might have been catastrophic to my life. Instead, I look back with gratitude because God navigated those times and used them for my growth.

Friends, when we are tethered to the Lord, we don’t have to fear the slips and trips of life. We can trust that He is safely controlling those just as much as He is the successful launches and safe passages. That’s where the sweet spot of comfort is – in the mercy of God’s grip. We can rest in the knowledge that we are held by the One who loves us most.