I started this writing on June 8, 2025.
I benefit from being part of a Life Group that meets at the home of Jeff and Rhonda. Jeff told us about a neighbor who died two days ago of a heart attack. Jeff did not know much about the neighbor’s overall health, but he believed it was “the widow-maker.” That got me pondering….
I read in an online article that William Shakespeare is credited with coining the term. Further research showed that he did not. There is no reliable information on its origin, but one source suspects it originated in the North American lumber camps.
I did find that Earnest Hemingway used the term in “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” He was helping the reader to see the dangers incurred by the men on a bridge-building project, who were in perpetual danger from falling rocks and other hazards.
My son-in-law, JP, is in the construction industry. I have heard him use the term many times, referring to dangerous situations he has seen or anticipated. “Luck” has not protected him, but his attention to detail has. (I haven’t said it out loud, but he has great situational wisdom.)
Over my driveway, there is a dead limb of a tree that was separated from its trunk. It now hangs about thirty feet up in the air, dangling from a few small limbs of a healthy tree. My daughter, who connected me to JP, refers to it as a widow-maker.
Because I live in the woods, I find a fallen tree limb stuck five or six inches into the ground about once a year. I shudder when considering the possible scenarios.
After my friend, Jeff, started my pondering machine, I found myself applying the term to my spiritual life. Are there spiritual “widow-makers” threatening my Kingdom life? Are there unaddressed opinions or hurts lurking in my mind that pose a threat to my right relationship with the people God has allowed into my life? Unnoticed because I have chosen to let the hurt of anger be shoved out of my “feelings,” so I wouldn’t have to deal with the issues?
Are there fears generated by the challenges of life that have been minimized in order to maintain a safe distance from having to adjust my life to grow or achieve?
One truth about all tree-dangling, dead widow-makers is that they will eventually come crashing down!
The difference between that limb hanging in my tree and those dead limbs in my heart is that when the tree limb falls, the impact is noticed. In my spiritual life, those dead limbs are just as deadly, just hanging above my head. If I don’t look at them I don’t have to adjust my walk. These are places where God, out of respect for our choices, cannot give life in abundance. He could – and we passionately petition for His “in spite of” blessings, but the fruit of the Kingdom cannot be realized. It’s like having a basket so full of rocks that there is no room for apples.
God is constant in his “blessings” to humanity. His general blessings are displayed in the marvels of the ball of dirt on which we stand, and the heavenly bodies that mark our calendars with the passing of time, filling us with the longing to explore. Humanity and individual humans cannot understand or fully enjoy those blessings without loving obedience. And the specialized personal blessing we so diligently pleaded for remains apparently unnoticed by God. Not because He is hard to convince, but because we are hard of heart, with eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear, and brains we do not use. Our arrogance, logic, and emotions drive our thinking.
If we focus on God’s love for us, our love for Him will flourish in delightful and courageous obedience. In that obedience, we realize and experience His blessings. It’s not the things He can bring into my life that thrills me: It’s the sense of His presence! That’s what I long for. And I will do anything to keep it happening. After air, water, and food, it is my greatest addiction. Maybe even before them.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:8-10, CSB)
Photo – My widow maker! When walking under it, it looks a lot bigger.
Baldwin Heirlooms 