Memories….Have you ever considered how many trails and pathways memories will take you as you go through life? Sometimes bringing joy and laughter and other times sadness and tears, but always bringing blessings of one nature or another. Just yesterday, I read a piece about knives and my memories jumped up front and I was recalling a time in yesteryear when my Granddad, Papa Hop handed me his knife and said, “Bub, ease over there and cut me one of them Willer switches.” I did and he proceeded to teach me the proper way to hold a knife as you whittled that tree limb into a small toothpick. Included in this impromptu lesson was not only the proper way to hold a knife safely, but also instructions on the importance of keeping a knife sharp and well cared for, proper way to close it, and a myriad of other uses for this invaluable object. Then he handed that knife back to me, just a lad of six summers, with a final instruction about always being mindful of what an important tool I now owned. Yes, I now owned my first knife. It was a bone handled Barlow that now has a chip broken out of one side of the grip because I did not learn my lesson like I should have. I had been to movies that showed fellers throwing their knives and sticking them into a tree. However, thrown improperly, often the handle hits first and that can result in a broken grip…and it did. My first knife had been defaced because of my not treating this tool properly. It was a hard pill to swallow, but to my credit, I owned up to that mistake and thankfully received forgiveness from Papa Hop for that foolish trick. A three part lesson, that has helped me throughout life. One, tools are important, take care of them. And two, it takes a good man to forgive foolishness. But number three was the most important lesson of all, a Granddad’s love will always be there! I still have that knife which I keep in a special place so that it will be a source of inspiration. I brought forth that story to make these points, (1)Jesus grew up as He did with a carpentry background and I am sure He knew the worth of tools. (2)Jesus probably did not carry a pocket knife, but The Bible likens the word of God to a sword. In Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of joints from the marrow, and is able to discern thoughts and intentions of the heart.” And the third lesson shows that, He is quick to forgive and His love is always there! And so the trails and pathways of memories!
