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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Confused (08/16/07)
What Tree?


I opened my eyes to see the beautiful sunshine beaming through my open curtain. I jumped up and hurriedly dressed. It was Saturday and going with Daddy to feed our two little calves was the highlight of my week.

Daddy had them out in Kagel Cannon. They had acres of pasture with lush, green grass to run on. The pasture was made even more beautiful by the scattered colors of the wild flowers. There were small streams that emptied into a small river that ran in the cannon. I loved running through the fields with the wind blowing through my hair.

I raced to the back of the truck to grab the tin pan and big metal spoon. All I had to do was make a loud clanging noise and the calves would come to where I was. One of them was brown and the other black. Dad had laughed and called me real creative when I named one Brownie and the other Blackie.

Dad busied himself with unloading a weeks worth of hay. He drove the pick-up down to the end of the field and closed the gate. I headed for the old-fashioned handled water pump. It was my chore to fill their water troughs.

The calves began to stir around as if they were frightened. The heavy pawing of the ground and the snorting sound behind me made me flip around to see the biggest bull I had ever seen. He had his head tucked and was getting ready to charge at me. Compared to him I was just big enough to make a good dinner for him, something I wasn’t going to stay around and let happen.

No matter how much my head begged my feet to run fast they appeared to be stuck to the ground. My heart was pounding so hard and loud I was sure the bull could hear it. I tried to yell for Daddy but I couldn’t make a sound louder than a whisper.

“Nice Bull. Nice Bull,” I whispered as I took a deep breath and tried to calm down a little.
The calves seemed to understand I could get hurt. They bawled and moved in front of me enough to hide me from the bull.

I flipped around and started running as fast as I could but all of a sudden I was confused about which way to run. I could hear the snorting of the bull in the distance which forced me to just keep running.

“Patty! Patty! Look for a tree, “ I heard Daddy yell somewhere to the side of me.

Look for a tree? What does he mean by that? Looking up from the ground I let my eyes search for a tree. In the process I spotted Daddy running along the fence line at the end of the field.

The sound of a commotion behind me made me run harder for Daddy. The fence got closer and closer but I still didn’t see a tree! At last I was close enough to make a belly dive and role under the fence none to soon. Rolling over I looked up into the eyes of the bull as he stood on the other side of the fence. His eyes were filled with anger as he made one final snort. He bent down and took a bite of grass as if he wasn’t guilty of trying to hurt me.

Within seconds Daddy was scooping me up in his arms. “I couldn’t find a tree Daddy, I couldn’t find a tree, “ I said through sobs as he hugged me.

It’s okay baby, It’s okay. You were looking down at the ground and running. You can’t run as fast when you’re looking down. It was the only thing I could think of to say that would make you look up and watch where you were going.” he declared as he sat me down on the ground and dusted me off. You’ve got to look up to keep moving forward!

As the years have gone by I have found myself in numerous frightening situations, ones that appeared to have the power to destroy me. I did find the tree that keeps me focused and moving forward. It’s known as the Old Rugged cross. As long as I look for that tree I keep moving forward and find myself running into safety of the arms of my Heavenly Father.
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This article has been read 1144 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
dub W
08/24/07
Pretty good, nice descriptions. Note: you rolled under the fence. Also, the last two paragraphs, break up the dialog and thoughts.

Jan Ackerson
08/24/07
Wonderful story! I could see the whole scene unfolding!

Normally I don't care for a final paragraph that tells the reader what lesson they should take from a story, but it just seemed to work here. Nicely done.
Lynda Schultz 
08/24/07
Wonderful illustration of divine truth. Good job.
Joy Faire Stewart
08/25/07
Very interesting story and I love the analogy...excellent point.
christine bastow
08/25/07
Enjoyable reading with a good finish. Well done. Chris x
SYLVIA KING
08/27/07
This is an adorsble story. I loved the way you tied in the tree into the Old Rugged cross. It was a good transition from being a child to an adult. Thank you for sharng the your story.
SYLVIA KING
08/27/07
This is an adorsble story. I loved the way you tied in the tree into the Old Rugged cross. It was a good transition from being a child to an adult. Thank you for sharng the your story.
Angela Linton
08/28/07
A good reminder for us all. Well done.
Bonnie Winters
08/29/07
I enjoyed the story very much. I could feel my heart rate speed up as you ran from the bull. The ending tied it all together nicely as well - the only thing I would suggest is a stronger beginning to arrouse curiousity and hook the readers attention to make them want to read on.
Good job!
Joanne Sher 
08/31/07
Congratulations, Patricia. Your entry has placed 14th in Level 3 and 38th overall. The Lists for the Top 15 in each Level and the Top 40 overall are available in the Weekly Results and Highest Rankings forum of our Faithwriters Message Boards.