![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/bicycle.jpg\")
<\/p>\nby Gary W. Holladay, Sr.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At sunset, I was quite tired from transplanting a cherry tree in the front yard of my corner lot; but I still needed to tie it down to protect it from the wind. As I pounded stakes into the ground, I heard the gleeful squeals of small children in the distance. Looking up, I saw a man following two small bicycles heading in my direction. One bike was clad with pink ribbons and a tiny little girl. Big brother, though not much bigger, was riding ahead. I returned to pounding stakes.<\/p>\n
Moments later I heard the man say, “Do not cross the street. Wait for me at the corner.” Sure enough, when I looked back the boy had peddled farther ahead and was waiting at the corner. “Which way should we go, Daddy?” said the little boy raring to cross. “Let’s go this way son, so we can stay on the sidewalk,” said the man. “There’s not a sidewalk on that side of the street.” I saw them turn and go up the cul-de-sac away from my house.<\/p>\n
I finished pounding in the stakes and was cutting twine when I heard again, “Do not cross the street. Wait for me at the corner.” Again, the boy had zipped ahead and was waiting at the street corner. As his dad caught up with him, the boy asked, “Can we cross the street now?” The man said, “yes,” and the boy zoomed to the sidewalk in front of my house and started down the short cul-de-sac that I live on.<\/p>\n
I tied a strip of cloth around the trunk of the tree and began tying twine to the cloth. “Wait at the corner,” said the man as he rounded the end of the cul-de-sac. A few moments later, I heard a shout, “Son, why did you cross the street? Why didn’t you wait for me?” There was no answer. The man asked again, “Why did you cross the street?” After a pause, the boy explained, “Because I wanted to.” The father was distressed. “I told you to wait for me!” After a longer pause, the boy replied, “Oh, Daddy, I forgot.” “No, that is not acceptable,” said the man disappointedly. “Now I can no longer trust you. Our walk is over.”<\/p>\n
How familiar those words sounded as I remembered my own children saying, “because I wanted to” or “I forgot.” And”I can no longer trust you” struck deep sorrow. The deed was done, the trust broken, and the walk was over.<\/p>\n
As I finished tying the twine to the stakes, I realized the greater significance of the event I had just witnessed. I remembered when my Father in heaven had told me to “wait at the corner” and I did not listen. How that must have disappointed Him! The trust I shattered as I disobeyed His Word and my “walk” with God ended.<\/p>\n
I don’t know what happened after the man took his children home. He seemed to be a loving father. After all, he wanted them to cross the street under his protection and stay on the sidewalk where it was safe. Perhaps he was merciful to his erring son. What I do know is that my Father in heaven has shown mercy to me. And like my cherry tree, I have been transplanted and anchored by His Son.<\/p>\n
“For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures… But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.<\/em>” (Titus 3:3-7).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Gary W. Holladay, Sr. At sunset, I was quite tired from transplanting a cherry tree in the front yard of my corner lot; but I still needed to tie it down to protect it from the wind. As I pounded stakes into the ground, I heard the gleeful squeals of small children in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[54],"class_list":["post-58403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-obedience"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":27656,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-psalms-11822-24-refer-to-jesus-and-his-resurrection\/","url_meta":{"origin":58403,"position":0},"title":"Does Psalms 118:22-24 refer to Jesus and his resurrection?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Sir, May the peace of God be with you all.\u00a0I would be grateful if you could help me with the understanding of Psalms 118:22-24. Is the verse(s) referring to Jesus and his resurrection? Thank you, God bless you. Answer: \"The stone which the builders rejected has become the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54177,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-did-people-start-calling-god-abba-daddy-or-papa\/","url_meta":{"origin":58403,"position":1},"title":"When did people start calling God, “Abba Daddy” or “Papa?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What are your thoughts on calling God \"Abba Daddy\" or \"Papa?\" In reading the thoughts of others and their reason for using this phrase, I was wondering when this came about. Answer: The phrase \"Abba, Father\" came about when Jesus called out to God in an hour of need\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":511,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-about-the-thief-on-the-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":58403,"position":2},"title":"What about the thief on the cross?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 14, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am still a little confused about what I need to actually do. I heard about baptism, but they say that the thief on the cross wasn\u2019t baptized. Isn\u2019t he in heaven? Answer: I appreciate the time taken to ask questions concerning your salvation. Personally, I don\u2019t believe the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62320,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/establishing-good-habits\/","url_meta":{"origin":58403,"position":3},"title":"Establishing Good Habits","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Peter 1:2-12 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We spend a lot of time and money on education \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We learn fundamental skills and search for information that makes us stand out in the job market \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We teach our children, even when they whine and moan about school work, so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85380,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-desperate-man\/","url_meta":{"origin":58403,"position":4},"title":"A Desperate Man","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Adam Litmer His son's life is on the line, and he's desperate. 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