Grandma's tales for Sunday.

“The Inca cowboy and the stampede.”
“As a man thinks, so is he.”

My desire to change the world is 65 years old. Let me tell you a story.

With 13 mules and donkeys my grandfather returned home from a weeklong trip to the villages across the Andes Mountains near our hometown. It was to collect all kinds of grains and agricultural dry goods to last us all winter.

As soon as the mules and donkeys unloaded their cargo in the patio of our house, they were relieved after a whole day’s journey from the mountains. Someone had left the gate open and the mules and donkeys got out in a stampede kicking in the air necking to the other mules in what seemed like a happy celebration of having arrived home and enjoying the freedom, freedom, freeeeeeedom!!

The only problem was that I was about one hundred yards up the street coming home at sundown. I was not about to let those stupid mules get lost and be stolen by horse thieves.

At age five or six and being almost three and a half feet tall, I stood in the middle of a bridge with hands and legs open to stop “them mules” and to make them return to the corral like scared dogs with their tails between their legs. It did not work!!

The mules seem to accelerate with a complete lack of respect to the “Junior Master” that one day would be their owner and the master of their lives. My grandma saw my predicament from the door of her store and yelled at the top of her voice saying, “let them go baby.” I began to dance in frustration and yelled back to grandma, “They are going to get lost.”!!!!

Grandma again yelled back, “It is okay, let them go and get out of the way.”

Get out of the way??? Are you kidding me?? The stampede was closing in but I was not about to move an inch. Talk about “playing chicken?” By God’s Grace who loves little babies, little donkeys and stupid people he caused the mules to blink and they passed at great speed on either side of me. To my best understanding of mule language they seemed to be laughing their heads off at me.

I lost the confrontation but I had a sense of victory at having not blinked. Later, much later, I thought about the incident and it was clear to me that I am not a baby mule, neither am I a newborn baby, but I sure qualify as “stupid.”

My convictions to change the world are not a thing of yesterday but from early childhood. Some years ago, a friend asked me what my stampede looked like today? With the same stupid courage of my childhood I said, “The stampede is lot bigger but once again I don’t expect to blink this time either.”

“As a man thinks, so is he.” I have been dreaming to change and put order into the world all of my life. With God’s help I plan to stick to my guns and fight it out to the end.

Now that you know the rest of the story of my life, I have shrewdly planted a time bomb in your heart with this info, so that you will feel responsible for and pray for me that I might remain faithful by life or by death to our precious Lord Jesus. Spiritual forces are viciously attacking me and I have no other recourse but to appeal to the prayers of the body, that is you my friends. Last night I was able to sleep only one hour.

I hope you do not easily forget the little boy in me in the middle of the bridge trying to stop the stampede.

I believe in loving and taking Jesus at his word and that is what faith is all about. I believe prayer is agreeing with God according to his word and will and that is where the power of prayer rests. I also believe that the kingdom of God is not a matter of words but of power. Power and authority is from the spirit of Jesus where ALL things are possible.

This was the Inca cowboy of Jesus on duty.

Gerry Gutierrez.

PS. The pictures are of my honorable grandmother and me.