When I was teenager I worked on a produce farm. The farmer had a small Farmall tractor we called ‘Pee Wee’. It wasn’t very powerful, but pulled the farm wagon, potato cultivator, or other small tasks. It had a crank starter like a Model T Ford. We boys spent a lot of time taking turns cranking that engine. If you weren’t careful, that engine could kick back and break your wrist.

I had that thing kick back on me more than once. Although I never broke anything, I’ve had a pretty painful sprain and been out of commission a day or two. Pee Wee was as aggravating as anything I’ve ever worked with, but once we got it going, it was the perfect tractor for a teenager and was easy to maneuver.

Some things in life kick back on us. We want to be in control of everything. The smallest Pee Wee things can sometimes cause us the most pain.

I failed the seventh grade. It had been a year of pranks, jokes, and showing off. I had not turned in assignments or studied for any tests. I got an A in Art but pretty well flunked everything else. I was the class clown. I had it made until grade cards were issued at the end of the school year. “Retained”: yikes. I was devastated. It was a wake up call for me.

When I showed up the first day of school that fall, I was in the class with kids a year younger than I. I was humiliated. For the first time in my life I wanted to prove myself. I worked really hard on homework and studied for tests. But, by now I didn’t know my multiplication table or an adverb from an adjective. I was way behind. But I didn’t want to be known as a failure, so I worked hard. And I made it; I graduated.

No one wants to fail at marriage, business, school, or anything else. We all want to find approval and be accepted. Most of us need a wake up call to motivate us, though.

In my spiritual journey, I had that wake up call in 1971 when the Lord met me in my moral failure. I determined at that time that I would turn my life around, and by God’s grace, I have been faithful with that.

What was your wake up call?

Fair week is coming up. As a kid, I saved my lawn-mowing money for fair week. I think I had $15, and that was big money for me. My first trip there I went to one of the carnie stands and he challenged me to knock over some targets. He showed me how easy it was, and I put my money down. I missed. He offered me some double or nothing deal, and before I knew it, I was broke and Mr. Carnie had my $15. I stood there wondering what just happened. I had been bamboozled, flim-flammed, ripped off.

Obviously, that was one of the best life lessons I’ve ever learned. I’ve been cautious with my finances and not trusting of strangers ever since. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Satan is the original Carnie. He scams you and I out of God’s blessings. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

In the woods behind our house I’ve staked out three one- and tw0-year oak trees, and one one-year old hickory tree. When the leaves are off, before the ground freezes, I’ll go back there and dig them up to transplant in my yard. The deer would destroy them in the wild but they’ll look great by my house.

Transplanting is no easy task. There will always be some shock to the root system, and sometimes a harsh winter can finish them off. Sometimes they don’t survive the soil change, and often (if not protected), the rodents can strip the bark and kill them.

Its like a transplanted life in Christ. Sometimes transplants don’t survive. As a pastor, I’ve seen more failed spiritual transplants than I have successful ones. After years of failure with trees and conversions, I’ve learned that there’s only one thing that increases chances of survival: water. New trees with shallow roots need soaked with lots of water. And new souls need soaked with the Word, fellowship, and encouragement. Let’s help someone thrive today.

I once was asked to chair a meeting at a church in Ohio. The church was without a pastor and there was some contention among the leadership. I presume I was asked to do this because of my peacemaker personality. Don’t they realize that peacemakers hate conflict? That meeting had plenty of conflict. Some members who had left the church a year before came back to stir up their opinion again.

But I knew where the majority stood, and I had a little understanding of the culture in that church. I had a sense of what needed to happen to lead that church into unity, and certain people had to leave for that to happen. So I answered questions as diplomatically as I could, and did what I needed to do. I made some people mad, but the church survived and is thriving today with a new pastor who is still there 10 years later.

Some conflict is good for us. It gives us a wealth of experience so we can do it better the next time. Just make sure you ask God to be by your side and tell you when to shut up.

My Dad had a dead tree on the edge of his property. He gave me the job of digging up the stump. I was just a teenager and that was a big stump. I had the tools to dig and chop, but there was no room to work down in that hole. Dad had an old railroad jack and an old chain. I wrapped the chain around one of the roots and tried to jack that root out. The chain snapped. There was a weak link in the chain and that’s where it gave way. Dad finally got a truck driver, Red Houlton, to yank that stump out of the ground.

Chains are designed to take a lot of weight before they break. But they’ll always break at the weakest link. Its like that in our lives. We’re pretty strong until we come to that weak link area; that’s where we keep stumbling. The only way to fix a weak link is to remove it and replace it with a stronger one. Jesus becomes our replacement link when we trust Him.