Grace Community Christian Church

 

Archived Things Above

The Last Dewar Standing (6/3/04)

The first time was with my sister. We had just finished lunch in Jasper, Alberta, & were walking along the street admiring the beautiful snow-capped Canadian Rockies that encircle that town. Suddenly, people were running up to me, asking if I was alright. "Sure," I replied, bewildered at their concern.

"Not you," they gasped, pointing to the pavement. "Her!"

Sure enough, Diane's shoe had caught on a piece of broken sidewalk, & down she went. It happened so fast, she never even had time to cry out. Just BAM. Down for the count. Fortunately, nothing was broken or even seriously bruised. But it scared her, & it scared me, too. With mountains like that to look at, it's really easy to miss obstacles that can ruin your day.

A few days later it was my mom's turn. We had just checked into the stunning Banff Springs Hotel & ridden the shuttle bus to downtown Banff. We'd walked about three blocks when total strangers again came running up to ask if I was alright. It was like deja-vu all over again! "Sure," I replied, hoping that Mom was still standing.

"Not you," they gasped, pointing to the pavement. "Her!"

Yup. Mama (as I had affectionately dubbed her on this trip) was lying motionless, face down on the cement. This time the culprit was a mindlessly & perilously placed temporary construction fence support that stuck out about two feet into the public walking space. There were at least a dozen of them along this section of the block, attracting unsuspecting feet like magnets.

Mom didn't fare as well as Diane; she cut her gum & really banged up her knees. Standing up from a sitting position would be very painful for the next few days, & a wheelchair would be required for her airport journeys. But it could have been much worse. Fortunately, her hands had instinctively come up & broken the fall, & she just missed the next steel fence support by inches. We hailed a taxi, & that was the last she would see of downtown Banff.

Doesn't take much to trip us up, does it? A few careless moments of inattention can land us injured or worse. The irony is that it was the unsurpassed beauty that caused all of us to look away from where we were going!

A New Testament writer warns that "we all stumble in many ways." (James 3:2) He's talking about nasty words that can come out of nowhere & leave relational carnage strewn about in a matter of seconds or sentences. But whether it's careless words or careless actions, fact is, we're all prone to hurting ourselves & others inadvertently, even while admiring our awesome God.

By the end of the trip, I was known as The Last Dewar Standing. But that's somewhat of a misnomer, because while I never publically nosedived into the sidewalk like the rest of my family, there were moments when my mouth & my heart came close to going down. And I was humbly reminded that walking with God is like walking through tourist towns: It's easy to go down while looking up, & strong, tender arms of caring people can sure come in handy.


Jim Dewar --