Folksy Wisdom that Makes Sense

“When God leads you to the edge of the ‘cliff of life’, trust Him fully and let go. Only 1 of 2 things will happen, either He'll catch you when you fall, or He'll teach you how to fly!”

I am not sure who made that statement first but it is one that stops me in my tracks. It says what I believe or have come to understand – placing the thought into crisp and clean words…that I can understand.

The best part is that someone has lived it… and it kind of applies in our lives.

Folksy Wisdom comes from down to earth people that have learned from hundreds of mistakes in a life of long living.

In my 65 years of living I have had many instructors in early School, College and University… and in a lifetime of work. There have been some that stand out as very amazing… usually they are older… and definitely wiser. There have been a few as teachers that are very young… with no experience other than they had read more books than me… had a good degree and were placed in a classroom with new students that didn’t know any better.

An Old Physics Teacher in our High School told of his days on the farm mending the fences. Along with him was his faithful horse that plodded along beside him carrying the material that he needed to repair the downed barbwire fence. Behind the horse was a simple kind of slay – called a “stone boat” that carried the extra fence posts that might be needed.

As I listened to his story that day I could identify with the fence that needed to be fixed, I had gone with my uncles on the farm to do that. I knew what a “stone boat” was and helped lead a horse by pulling his reigns.

The Old Physics Teacher told how a storm came up and the lightening was flashing everywhere… rain poured from the sky… and all around his cowboy hat and off the brim as he sat on his horse who plodded along slowly along the fence line. The horse was a faithful friend to the Old Teacher.

His horse was acting restless as it walked along. I think he used the word ‘jittery’. As the Old Physics Teacher looked up past the horses head he could see small sparks/lightening bolts coming from the tip on the horse’s ear. They were parallel to the barbwire fence which was made of metal… it ran up and down along the entire length of the field … which had the highest trees standing next to the fence… and the shy was full of lightening – everywhere.

We sat spell bound as he told how the horse was picking up the highly charged electrical flow from the fence and the air… and he realized that sitting on the horse made him the highest point in the field… a lightening strike was possible. He dismounted the horse and walked beside it all the way back to the farm house.

“And today I want to introduce you to the power of electricity”, stated the Old Physics Teacher, “Your lives will never be the same after you consider the power of electricity and what it can do for you!”

I was so ready to study that subject after the Old Physics Teacher wrapped my imagination with his Folksy Wisdom.

He retired about two years later – what a loss. A new young guy with black rimmed glasses took over the program. Cool guy but dumb! We asked him about the horse possibly having little lightening bolts coming from its ear and he simply went, “Humph, I have never ridden a horse how would I know!?”

The Old Physics Teacher’s name was Mr. Cury and he had stirred me deeply to love all things in Physics.

Another saying came my way…
“What you don’t know never hurts you; it’s what you suspect that causes all the trouble.”

Do you remember sitting in your living room when your teenager didn’t come home on time? It was at that moment that this folksy statement became a part of your life.

Or maybe it was the time that the doctor had some Lab Tests run on your personal being… the wait time for the results was the longest 10 days that you ever could imagine.

A few years back my wife and I waited on my test results for the cancer that the doctor suspected. With the symptoms that I was showing it was possible. That 10 days period was about 25 years long. We sat in front of his desk that day and he opened the file… his eyebrows raised… and then he smiled… “You are clear… no cancer… only a small problem that will be taken care of easily.”

Another bit of Folksy Wisdom that a very old person first stated to me relates the following…
“It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you down so much but the small stone in your shoe.”

When I first heard that I had been laying out all my problems to this very old Pastor that had retired along time ago. As I sat in his quiet living room with the large clock’s pendulum swinging gently behind him… his words penetrated my mind and being.

Then he said, “God knows all about the mountains – he created them… and he made each little pebble… which he may just have placed in your shoe to slow you down.” Then he smiled.

The clock ticked away the minutes as I sat thinking about what he has said…

A more recent thought to remember came not long ago… in an Old Person’s magazine…
“Happy are those people who make their homes in the hearts of friends.”

WOW! That is what has happened this past year for me. God gave me some amazing friends that have allowed me into their hearts… I set up my home there and stayed. Maybe I will stay forever. I love it there. There is no guile… no falsehood… no Bull. They just love you for what you are.

The amazing thing is when I looked into my heart today those special friends are nestled snugly inside my own heart.

It is at that moment that you know that these friends are there for you when the mountains are too great. I mean when your own life is tipping over… they tip with you… it shakes up their home as well as yours… because they live inside of you!

The final one that I keep close to my heart…
“The Best Sermon is a Good Example”
It may be the hardest one to preach… but does it ever bring results.

Over this past year through the struggles and the pressure… I have been in contact with some other ministers… in fact some have come to do whatever they could around me. Some were great and some were well… not great. The not so good ones said one thing and did another… turning and running when I couldn’t even stumble forward.

All I need to know today is that I do my best… and God does the rest.

Another folksy wisdom bit…. Have a wonderful day.

~ Murray Lincoln ~
www.murraylincoln.com