There goes a squirrel out on a limb

With a cat at the base looking up at him

With hungry eyes and an evil grin

That’s just how my life has been

I’ve spent some time out on a limb

Wondering just where I fit in

With the world that I know spinning out of control

And nothing quite as it’s always been

My foundation’s secure, solid as a rock

I know I’m part of God’s precious flock

I need to center my mind on that

And have the confidence of that cat

God’s still in control and always has been

I’m so relieved when I trust in Him

His timeline never is mine to see

But He will never forget about me

So I’ll continue to picture Him

Enthroned in heaven where He’s always been

And go about my daily life

Secure that He will handle the strife

I’ll pray each day to be the one

To handle those things He needs done

To make our life a better place

And without fear we’ll live in peace

Recently I wrote that poem while I was watching the squirrels playing and interacting with our cat watching them. Squirrels are very sure-footed and watchful, but one wrong move and their life could come to a sudden end with that cat watching so closely. Yet they leap from one branch to another with confidence. It reminded me of how careful we have all had to be during the past year with not only Covid but our economy teetering on destruction in Wyoming. It also caused me to think about my husband’s recent sky diving adventure. 

Toby decided this spring that he wanted to try sky diving. He’s always been ready for a new adventure, and this is something he had never done, so he arranged a date and we headed to Colorado for him to get started. He’s in great physical condition and, even though he’s 83, he had no reason to be concerned about his safety, because he would be flying tandem. While he was getting prepped for the jump, our daughter, her husband, and one of our great-granddaughters and I watched about 80 or more sky divers jumping out of planes and watched how they manipulated the chutes to go wherever they wanted, and how smooth and beautiful it looked. Many were first time jumpers and were belted to an instructor who did all the moves for them. That is what Toby did since it was his first jump. It was exciting to watch him and to see that excited expression on his face when he landed. He had a great time and had no fear, because he had an instructor strapped to his back. 

Instructor or not, that jump was still a leap of faith. You have complete faith in the parachute and an instructor that literally has your life in his hands, and you trust that he will give you a safe landing back on earth. That so reminded me of the faith I have in Jesus, and the leaps of faith our lives have taken over our 58 years of marriage. It’s so obvious when we look back over our lives that God has always had our back. We trusted in many of the wrong people over the years; we endured an unequal partnership that left us homeless and unemployed, an economic disaster in the 80’s with farm prices plummeting and our investments with it and trusting in a couple companies that had no integrity and didn’t bother to pay for the work done for them, and you get the gist, I could go on. But we worked our way through those times, sometimes working three jobs at a time, and God always opened up another door for us to walk through and start over. The times we are going through today remind me of those times, where people have to work through the economic conditions and trust God to get them through and find what will work for them. 

God never promised that our lives would be easy, but He did promise that if we put our lives in His hands and trusted Him, He would show us the right path to take and would go right along with us during our walk. He would guide and direct us to what He has prepared us to do, but we would have to do the work involved in the process. We need to learn from Him and have a daily study plan so He can guide and direct us and use the knowledge and wisdom He gives us to make wise decisions. 

Psalm 32:8“I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.”

Psalm 18:28,29 “For Thou dost light my lamp; the Lord my God illumines my darkness, for by Thee I can run upon a troop; and by my God I can leap over a wall.”