Don't Tell Dad!!!

   While I can assure you that, without question, I took "stupid" to a whole new level with some of my stunts growing up, I also witnessed some amazing feats being accomplished by my siblings. The apple never falling too far from the tree, I'm quite certain that my parents went to bed on many nights wondering if there was something in the water that had severely damaged the thought process in the minds of their children.
   One such event took place when I was about 4 years old. My sister (Who will remain nameless in order to protect her identity.......After all, she's much smarter now) became very upset with my father. So upset, in fact, that she decided she was going to run away from home to teach him a lesson. She was just 5 years old at the time, it was in the middle of winter, and it was already dark outside. I'm not sure where she thought she might be going, or how long she could stay outside before she came back home to warm up, but darn it, she was going to teach him a lesson!!!
   She told me of her plan, then put some clothes in a bag, put her jacket on, and climbed on her dresser so she could reach the casement window in her bedroom. She cranked the window open as far as it would go with the crank handle, then looked back at me with a glare as she threw one leg over the window sill, saying "Don't tell Dad!!!" I could see that her facial expression changed a bit once she was sitting on the window sill with both feet hanging outside. She suddenly looked less sure of herself. Maybe it was the 6 foot drop into the snow below. Maybe it was the cold air. I can't be too sure. As the moment of truth arrived, she threw her bag of clothes out the window, then placed both hands on the sill and shoved herself off into the darkness.
   From my angle of view, it was clear that something had gone horribly wrong with her plan. I could hear grunting, and an occassional thud on the outside of the wall. I ran over and climbed up on her dresser to see what had happened. As it turned out, once she taken her leap of faith, the hood on her jacket had snagged itself on the crank handle of the casement window, and she had literally just hung herself. I poked my head out of the window to see if she was ok. Her little arms were flailing back and forth, and her body was bouncing off of the siding as she tried desperately to free herself, but her attempts to this point were fruitless. In her defiance (and I must admit that to this very day I still respect her commitment to the plan) she looked back at me and growled "Don't tell Dad!!"
   Of course, as much as I wanted to obey her wishes, I could see that if she was left to her own resources at this point, she was going to end up dead, or frozen to the siding, or both. It was clear to me that I had to do something quick. I ran and got my dad, who got up from his place on the sofa, walked into her room, reached out throught the window, and pulled her to safety, using just one of his giant arms. What I knew was that, no matter what I attempted to do to help her, my dad had both the knowledge and strength to rescue her in a second. All I had to do was ask.
   As Len was speaking last Sunday, he spoke about 1 Timothy 4:13-16, which was Paul's charge to Timothy, encouraging him to, above all, focus on the word and on his dedication to teaching the word.
   He also talked about our role in this, which was found in Hebrews 13:7-8. The NASB says: "Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith."
   What is one way we can "Remember" them? I believe that the greatest thing we can do for the pastors in our churches is to pray for them, that they would be allowed to do as 1 Timothy 4:13-16 says. To focus on the word, and upon their clear teaching of the word. When they stand before us every Sunday morning, they are doing so in the faith that what has been revealed to them by God, through His word as they prepared the lesson they are teaching, will be used by God to inspire us and draw us more near to Him.
   On our part, we can 'imitate their faith" by praying for them during the week, as they're preparing the lesson they are going to teach, asking God to keep them focused and to reveal His truth to them, so that we might be taught also.
   I doubt that either Len or Bob with accidentally hang themselves attempting to climb out of a window. But they will struggle at times. Many times, the very best thing we can do for them is to "Tell Dad." After all, as they're trying to tie together the various loose ends of their lessons, there may be moments when they feel as though they're hanging from the casement window, not sure how to accomplish what they had set out to do. For all we know, it might be at that very moment that God hears our prayers for them, reaches out with His enormous arm, and puts their feet safely on solid ground.