“Papaw, tell us a story,” is a phrase we hear a lot when the grandkids come to visit. So, my husband will gather the grandkids on his lap and commence to spin a tall tale that goes something like this: Once upon a time there was this little boy who loved to climb trees. He would take his bowl of cereal up a tree and eat his breakfast. After school, he would do his homework sitting in a tree. Once a kitten got stuck in a tree and the fire department asked the boy to climb the tree and rescue the cat. Well, one day this boy decided he wanted to go to school a different way. He wanted to swing from tree to tree all the way to school. He climbed up the big tree in his front yard and crept out on a branch and swung himself to the tree across the street. He swung himself from tree to tree all the way across town ’till he got across the street from the school. There was one more tree, but it was a bit too far away for a successful branch to branch connection. But, he tried anyway and sure enough, the boy fell from the tree. (Here comes the big ending. The grandkids, who have heard this ending dozens of times, will recite it with Papaw, loving every dramatic moment.) “He went SPLAT! Then he gets up, dusts himself off and says, ‘Well, that didn’t work out very well, did it?’”
Next time the yarn will be about a little girl who is running after a kitty and stubs her toe. “She went SPLAT! Then she gets up, dusts herself off and says, ‘Well, that didn’t work out very well, did it?’” Or maybe it will be an elaborate account with a science-fiction flair when the boys and girls in the story are able to leap over houses or parked cars or large bodies of water. Once Papaw spun a tale about a clumsy grandmother chasing after her grandkids so she can smother them with kisses. (Don’t know where he got the idea for that one.) But, the end is always the same. Someone goes “SPLAT, gets up, dusts off and says, ‘Well, that didn’t work out very well, did it?’”
Sounds like Sarah. You can read about her life and times in Genesis, but the jist of it is that Sarah heard over and over again that God was going to make a great nation come from the descendents of her husband, Abraham. But Sarah was not very patient, looking at physical evidence instead of God’s providence. She told Abraham he could have his descendents from her handmaid. The handmaid became obnoxious and smug and Sarah became jealous and abusive. It was a big mess. Like the ones I make when I try to fix things in my life without praying or waiting on God’s timing. When that happens, like Sarah, I fall with a great big SPLAT, get up, dust myself off and mutter, “Well, that didn’t work out very well, did it?”
At other times I can be like King David. It was the time when kings go off to war and David stayed home, spying on beautiful Bathsheba. David wanted her, and when he made sure he got her, he created a big mess. Like the ones I make when I start wanting something I have no business wanting and go about getting it like a bull in a china shop. That’s when I go SPLAT, get up, dust myself off and confess, “Well, that didn’t work out very well, did it?”
Sometimes I pray for things I want or for something to get better or for something else to go away. I remember that Jesus said in John 14:13 that whatever we ask in His name He will do. So, I ask, in Jesus name, and wait. For maybe five minutes or so. And if God has not stopped the world from spinning on its axle so that He can concentrate on my problem and do what I have commanded Him to do, I snatch back the request and commence to fixing things myself. Invariably, I’ll make a mess and go SPLAT. Doing things without relying on God never works out very well, know what I mean?
Have you gone SPLAT lately?
Verna Davis may be reached at vrdspeaks@yahoo.com.
History
THE JOY LADY: Doing things without relying on God never works out well
- History
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Terre Haute Works of Allis-Chalmers closes
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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GENEALOGY: BMD website great for tracing England, Wales
If you have ancestors who trace back to England or Wales within the past 175 years, then the Free BMD website at RootsWeb, at freebmd.rootsweb.com/, is the place to visit.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: WBOW introduced some fine Valley talent
When it first began broadcasting in 1927, station WRPI (Rose Polytechnic Institute) focused on educational programing.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Inventor John B. Deeds and highwayman William G. Murray
Among the many unsolved local history mysteries is the fate of master machinist and inventor John B. Deeds.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: This little-known compromise may have saved the union
When the Constitution was signed in September of 1787 and sent to the Congress that then existed under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was instructed to send that Constitution to the states to be ratified … or not. The message to the states was clear: Accept the Constitution or reject it, but don’t try to change it.
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Traveling Civil War exhibit makes history personal
Civil War history will come alive for visitors to the Sullivan County Public Library who experience “Faces of the Civil War,” a traveling exhibition created and managed by the Indiana Historical Society.
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GENEALOGY: Virginia Historical Society takes on ambitious project
Over the past few months, the Virginia Historical Society has launched an ambitious project to scrutinize more than 8 million 17th, 18th, and 19th century documents in order to identify the enslaved population of those times.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: The Legacy of ‘The Old Silkworm House’
In 1837, and for several years thereafter, a gray sandstone obelisk was installed next to a one-story frame residence at the northwest corner of Sixth and Eagle streets.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: A blast from valentines past
Valentine’s Day — it brings to mind simple paper valentines and the elaborate, fancy store-bought cards with multiple verses and glittery covers.
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Flu outbreak forces Schulte closed
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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Original copy of 13th Amendment at Lincoln Library & Museum
A fully signed and recently restored copy of the Congressional resolution for a 13th Amendment to the Constitution, the official act that would abolish slavery in the United States, will be on display in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum’s Treasures Gallery.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Freedom of religion — beliefs and actions
Because religious faith is, arguably, the quintessential example of our right to privacy, to say nothing of its prominent place in our First Amendment, throughout our history court cases involving the free exercise of religion have been handled with great trepidation and with particular care. One of the milestone “free exercise” religion cases, Davis v. Beason, was decided by the Supreme Court this week (Feb. 3) in 1890.
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GENEALOGY: SoCal Genealogical Jamboree coming up in June
The Southern California Genealogical Society announces its 43rd Annual Jamboree, to be staged for three days on June 8-10, at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel in Burbank, Calif.
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LOOKING BACK: 2002: Disco Ernie featured on Maury
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Flashing the mayor's badge
This mayoral badge was presented to the Vigo County Historical Society by Elizabeth K. Schultz, the granddaughter of Samuel E. Beecher Sr., who served as mayor of Terre Haute from 1936 to 1940.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Deadly tornado devastates York in 1907
John T. Staff loved water and, particularly, the Wabash River.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Notorious Western desperado Ellsworth Wyatt captured in Clay County
In October 1892, Terre Haute police received a circular from the State of Kansas containing a description of Ellsworth Wyatt and offering a $1,200 reward for his capture.
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LOOKING BACK: 2002: ISU students honor Martin Luther King Jr.
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: News letter filled with wonderful local news
We recently received five bound volumes of copies of the “Terre Haute Onizette,” the Owen-Illinois Glass Company news letter for the Terre Haute Plant.
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GENEALOGY: Peyton, Downey, Fifer queries and a plea for help from Scotland
This week, we have several queries.
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Extension plans seminar on land use
The Purdue Extension Land Use Team is hosting a video seminar titled “Welcome to the Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals” from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Kennedy, Camelot, and other myths
This week (Jan. 20) in 1961, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as our 35th president, and his tragic death by assassination notwithstanding, his was a mediocre presidency that, undeservedly, became the stuff of legend — in part because of his assassination.
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Actor to portray Lincoln at dinner for historical society
A special program, “And Lincoln Wrote,” is coming to Harlan Hall in Marshall, Ill., with a featured presentation by Dick Benach as Abraham Lincoln and Chuck Hand as the publisher of the Prairie Beacon.
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GENEALOGY: Celebrate MLK Day with the Indiana Historical Society
On Monday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Indiana Historical Society will offer free admission to celebrate Martin Luther King Day.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Light Guards savor military and social experiences
Never during the Civil War was there a time when the City of Terre Haute was in danger of hosting an armed conflict involving one or more armies.
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: 87 high school hoops teams compete in 47th annual Wabash Valley Tournament
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: A bottle of clove oil at the pharmacy
The Historical Treasure for today is a bottle of Clove Oil.
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LOOKING BACK: 1987: St. Mary’s Parish congregation celebrates 150th anniversary
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Fire up the jukebox for a great night
The jukebox existed long before Glenn Miller’s “Juke Box Saturday Night” swing version.
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GENEALOGY: 1752 is one memorable year for genealogists
The year 1752 is one to remember if you have ancestors who lived in areas controlled by Great Britain; and this includes the American colonies.
- More History Headlines
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Terre Haute Works of Allis-Chalmers closes
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