HSBC Coffeebreak

Your Father knows what things you have need of before you ask him.
Matthew 6:8b

I was fifteen years old and rather bent out of joint. My dad had the nerve to ask me to spend a Friday and Saturday out on the ranch fixing fence. B O R I N G. That meant sitting in the pickup, driving s l o w l y along miles and miles and miles of barbed wire fence, putting in fence staples where old ones had fallen out, repairing broken wire and replacing fence posts that were broken. I could think of things I'd much rather do with my time, but it was a job that needed doing.

I'd had lunch earlier in the week with my Grandmother, and she said she'd enjoy spending time with me, would like to help if she could, and offered to sit with me and visit while I worked. A little background information is needed at this point, to clarify what was about to happen in my story. Grandma was blind. She also had diabetes. My siblings and I had been trained over the years, to treat Grandma carefully, since sometimes she'd bruise and not know it, and infection for a diabetic, left untreated, is a bad thing. Grandma and I got along great, and not being alone all day long was of interest to me, so I told her I'd pick her up and we'd head out for the long day ahead.

We sat in a dusty old pickup, windows down (no air conditioning). I'd watch the fence line as I drove and we'd talk. She'd hand me fence staples when I'd stop. "How many do you need?" she'd inquire. Sometimes just one, other times I needed two, three or four. She'd open up the pick up door and visit with me about different things. It did make my day go a bit faster.

After several hours, I noticed a larger section of fence was down, and three head of cattle were out, grazing on the wrong side of the fence. I was tired and dirty and wanted to just turn them into hamburger. "Oh crud," I groaned. "What's wrong?" Grandma inquired. "Cows out. Um... let me see. I'll figure out something to get them in." It was at this point that Grandma offered to stand on one of the fence posts that was down, holding the barbed wires down on the ground and enabling the cattle to walk across. I could round them up, walk them across, and then repair what was broken. I didn't give it another thought. I stood my blind, diabetic grandmother on a post that was attached to four barbed wires. I wasn't completely heartless, I gave her an old tree branch to steady herself with, as she stood there alone in the wind.

I ran out quite a ways, and rounded up the stray cattle. They got a bit excited and began running... towards my grandma..... and it was at this point (I'm not a real quick thinker, ok?) that it dawns on me what predicament I've just put my grandmother in. There she was, a bit bent over, perched on a broken fence post with barbed wire under her feet, her thinning white hair blowing in the breeze, blind to what was going on around her, cattle on a dead run heading towards her! AND I HEADED THEM THAT WAY! I didn't even have time to formulate a plan. It was over with before I could do anything about it. The cattle ran past my grandma and into the pasture where they were suppose to be. Grandma just stood there. (She obviously didn't have much other choice!) When she heard them run past, she hesitated for a bit longer, then said, "Are we done?" I could barely breathe. I was so embarrassed at what I'd just done. I ran towards her. "Grandma! I'm so sorry! I can't believe what I just did to you!" I cried. She smiled and laughed out loud, "I offered! I told you I wanted to help, and I'm glad I got to!" I swore her to secrecy, I didn't want my dad to find out what I'd just done to his mom! It was years later I told him about it (when it was safe to do so!).

Sometimes we find ourselves in predicaments. Some, like most of mine, are of our own doing. Other predicaments are just a result of living life on an imperfect earth. I didn't have time to pray for my Grandma at the moment I realized her predicament. I only had time to gasp and watch the events unfold within seconds. It's nice to know at times like that - God knows our needs, even before we ask.

Grandma lived another twenty plus years after that. We both had a good chuckle over that story, and I think she was tickled even though I was mortified.

Thank you, Lord, for Your limitless knowledge of what I need just when I need it, and for Your ability to provide it in spite of myself!

Written by
Melody Foster