Jake Owensby's Notes from The Woodlands

Reflections on navigating life's complexities with faith, hope, and love. Especially love.

Welcome to The Woodlands. You may know me from one of my six books like Looking for God in Messy Places. Maybe you follow my blog by the same name. Then again maybe you’re looking for conversations about making sense of this beautiful, harrowing, messy, and joyful life.

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Climbing the Right Ladder

You’re not supposed to stand on the top three rungs of a ladder. I did it anyway, even though I recognized at the time what a bad idea it was.

This was a 32-foot extension ladder. Even leaned against a wall at a precariously straight angle, it had not brought me safely within reach of the eaves of the house I was painting. So I had climbed up to the highest rung and stretched as far as I could, fighting the temptation to look down at the concrete patio below.

You might think that this was stupid. Maybe it was. But the truth is that I needed the money. So I did my job with my 22-year-old heart pounding in my chest and sweat pouring f…