What Side Are You Leaning On? … Hello weekend readers. This past week has been a tough one for Al and I because we got Covid! It is mild but still no fun. And of course, you don’t want to give it to anyone else, so you stay home until you drive yourself crazy. One minute you feel fine, the next minutes you’re leaning on the railing ready to fall down. Al and I are getting very good at propping one another up! So, out of my Covid fog, I couldn’t help but think about leaning, what am I leaning on, or toward? Sounds dumb but you know something, all of us in this world need someone to “prop us up now and then.” I went looking in my treasure trove of ideas, and I found this one that truly resonated with me and I hope it does with you, too. Enjoy!

“A pastor of a small church would occasionally call on one gentleman to pray, and every time he would end with the strangest statement, “And, oh Lord, prop us up on our leaning side.” Perplexed, the pastor pulled him aside and said, “I love the way you pray, but I don’t understand your little closing phrase. What are you talking about – prop us up on our leaning side?” “Well, Pastor, I’m a farmer. You know I live out on the farm in the country. I’ve got an old barn—been there a long time. It’s been through a lot of weather and storms, and a lot of bugs have eaten at it. So, I got to looking at it one day when I was riding on my tractor, and I noticed that it was leaning to one side and I thought to myself, oh my goodness, the barn is leaning, and it’s a matter of time before the whole thing falls. So Pastor, you know what I did? I went and got some pine beams, and I propped it up on its leaning side. Yep, it still leans a bit—probably always will. But I propped it up on its leaning side. And it’s not going to fall down because I propped it up on its leaning side. And I got to thinking about it, Pastor. When I was on the tractor riding in the field, I thought about the kind of year I’ve had, and some of the storms I’ve been through, and some of the people that are bugging me, and eating away at my joy and eating away at my spirit. And I just got to thinking, you know, I’m still here! I’m still standing after all that stuff I’ve been through. The storms, and the howling winds, well they couldn’t topple me. I’m still standing by the grace of God but, from time to time I still find myself leaning to my old desires, my anger; why sometimes I even start leaning toward becoming bitter and upset with others and myself. I don’t want to be like that, Pastor. So, when that happens, I just remember my old barn and I shout out “Lord, thank you for propping me up on the leaning side.”

What is your leaning side? Where do you go to when you need to be ‘propped up?’ In our fast and crazy society, it’s easy to lean toward all kinds of things that we think will make our lives better and easier. The catch? In our lives we will always encounter hardships, suffering, and times of hurt, anger and loss. From Genesis to Revelation we are told life is not a bed of roses so it’s not like we haven’t been warned. But, like the leaning shed, if we don’t take heed of what we are leaning on, we’re going to fall and often, we’re going to fall hard.

Isaiah 50:10 [MSG] says: “For anyone out there who doesn’t know where you’re going, anyone groping in the dark, Here’s what: Trust in God. Lean on your God!” And we find in Proverbs 3:5-6 [ESV] where to lean: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Perhaps we should take a look at what we are leaning on, is it strong, is it helpful, and most importantly, is it reliable? When we were kids, we’d love to make a make-shift fort. We’d find all kinds of wood and patch it together, only to have it fall usually within an hour or less! But we were not to be deterred, we would do it again and again, trying something else that didn’t work. Then Dad would come in with a hammer and nails and voila—we had a real fort!

That’s what God does for us. That is the saving news of Jesus Christ for us. When we are leaning and almost falling, there is our Savior, holding us up and filling us with strength and hope. So, don’t fall for the world’s latest ideas, instead run to Jesus—lean on Jesus, and you will find yourself on the “perfect leaning side!” AMEN.