Old Hats, Saints, and Other Anomalies
 

This is a post I made on another forum that a friend copied and pasted to the blog I am supposed to be contributing to.

I thought I would post it here for your perusal...





I was just thinking this morning about an old hat of mine that hangs on a bedpost in a bedroom down in deepest Oklahoma.

That hat, a Resistol straw, used to occupy my noggin about five months out of the year back in my younger days when I was riding herd on cattle and not saints.

It was expensive, for a straw hat, at the time I bought it. But a hat is one of those things it doesn't pay to skimp on.

One day not long after I had bought the hat, I was riding a paint horse named Popcorn. That was a good name for him, because he would go to popping at the most inopportune times.

I had been gathering cattle down in Blackfox Holler, and was coming back up a long, rocky ridge. It was a real windy day, which makes nervous horses a little more nervous, and to make a long story short, old Popcorn caught me napping and broke in two, summarily unloading me right on my head.

I was young and resilient, so my first concern was for my new hat...I picked it up, and was able to take my hand and pop it back into shape, with nothing but a small crease to show where the damage had been. No big deal--it was inevitable, and things like that add character. No harm done.

Time went on, and I was in the stud pen at an outfit I was working for breaking horses, to get a mare bred to the stud the rancher owned.

Old Jet, the stud, got a little excited and knocked ny hat off with his head, and then to add insult to injury, pawed it with a front hoof, mashing it way out of shape.

I picked up the hat, dusted it off as best as I could, and punched it back into shape--pretty much. It wasn't the same, but still looked all right for a work hat.

Things like this kept happening. And I kept working it back into the best shape I could every time something else came along and flattened it.

But there was a subtle change taking place in my old Resistol...the fibers in the straw were beginning to break down. Every time it was crushed, they became weaker, and were less able to hold their original shape.

Today, that hat, now a shapeless rag, hangs in my old bedroom in my Granny's house. She is a sentimental soul, and won't let me throw it away. She says it reminds her of happier times when I lived there with her, and she was taking proper care of me, unlike my wife, who has never quite catered to me like Granny thinks she ought to.

What, you ask, does this have to do with saints?

As a pastor, I have seen some folks who remind me a lot of that old hat.

Getting crushed by the same struggles and the same weights and sins over and over again. The procedure is repetitious--fall for the same trap, get up, get back in some kind of shape, and go on only to do it again.

Trouble is, when you don't learn to over come, and just rely on mercy and grace and the sweeteness of repentance, at some point, the fibers of your character can become broken down to the point that you have a hard time holding anything resembling your original shape.

It is not a matter of God's grace being able to keep or restore; it is simply a fact of life and a principle that you can't violate without suffering--repentance required determination to change. Relying on the restoration process like it is some kind of Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card will result in an eventual brakdown of the basic fiber of your soul to the point that it will require a miracle to get you back into shape again.

So anyway, my prayer today is the title of the old Murrell Ewing song--"Don't Let Me Take Advantage of Your Grace."

Good post, bro.

Brother,

Excellent as usual. On one hand it's a comfort to know that when I falter he has promised to forgive. On the other it is frightening to consider the possibility of making a mockery of what He did at Calvary.

Thanks for sharing.

LOL, I thought I would comment on the idea that LCS doesn't cater to you like Grandma thinks she should.

I bet she has a different story to tell.:killinme

Excellent, wonderful, inspiring, thought provoking, very readable, descriptive (word pictures created effortlessly and undeliberately).

Story telling at its best with a great practical, sobering and convicting application made.

Coonskinner needs to file these away and compile them some day into a book. I know apostolic authors writing today who would have to move over and make room for CS's obvious anointing and talent for reminiscing, turning a phrase and story telling/general writing ability.

**big thumbs up**

Good Post....

Old Hats, Saints, and Other Anomalies
 

Bro. Coonskinner,

I loved the story and if we could see the years and the

tears some ole saints have prayed through to be that

overcomer, it would prove what Calvary paid. Yes, the

price was high, but JESUS paid it all. All to HIM I owe!!

Bro. Pastor Poster's comment concerning your Granny

and LadyCoonskinner, reminded me of occasionally when

my hubby of (in a few days will be 48 yrs.), kinda suggests

that I am not letting him be the "boss". Just this morning

I reminded him that a "helpmate" is a type of the Holy

Ghost. "One called alongside to help"..highfive

Blessings,

Falla39

awesome.

Elder

This excellent.

Made my day.



TWO :thumbsup:thumbsup

Thanks for the kind words.

My Granny doesn't believe anybody besides her can take proper care of me.:)

That's one reason why she stays with us several months out of the year.:)

:D.....

Watch out for that Iron Skillet...

I agree. He should put all of his stories into a book. I would love to read it. :)

Just in case he does want to give this some consideration-- www.publishamerica.com

:D

He could call his Book...."Coonskinner Tails"....

no that's not right...

"Under A Coonskinner Moon"...

or "How to win Coons and Influence People"....

Just a few ideas...

Good to see you back, great post!

Brother CS,
great post!!!!!

Elder, the entire post was your usual grand scale of posting, but the above has jumped out at me in a clear and certain sound of gratefulness...grateful that the Almighty did not let me die in my mess, or worse, think I was okay when I wasn't.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and inspiration...

What a wonderful edifying post.

Thank you, Elder.

Compliments from you I cherish.

My "usual grand scale..."

You are sweet, Barb.:)

Glad to see some storytelling by Coon!

I think it's time you write up some more...............!!!!!!!!!!

Good story, CS.

It seems a hard thing to help "creatures of habit". I've come to know that all I can do is pray - but they must make the choice. I can't change anyone. I can only hope, love and pray.

Good post CS... it is a shame how quickly it became 2nd page provender for the truly hungry bovine among us.

Phil,

Thanks. I just posted this on a whim, and never had any illusions of it being a high traffic thread.

Bro CS
I received this in my email yesterday from Old Paths.....
Then I read it on CAF this morning
and Now I am reading it here...

EVERYBODY is raving about HOW GOOD IT IS...

I think it should be in the Apostolic Compass....

great words from a great man

Told you it was good! :p :D

Very good post, friend.

Thank you, my Brother.

Moooooooving!

Great job Bro CS.

Glad you gave up the hounds for the pen on this one.

I think you're the type of pastor that will keep on encouraging the one who is falling to get back up again and not to give up.

I've heard about people who say walking with God is too hard. The devil has them tangled in the lie of disbelief. They don't believe God is greater than their weakness or that Jesus is able to aid us in our temptation. And because they feel they can't keep all the rules and be perfect all the time, they give up walking with God.

What do you tell someone who is feeling this way?

If they feel that way, they have some very basic misunderstandings regarding grace and the nature of God.

There is no simple "magic bullet" that will fix them in one easy session.

They need good teaching and lots of prayer and encouragement.

A wise answer for sure!!!!