R E E E A A A A C H !!

     This week as I was driving to Memorial, because that's what I do now, I passed some men working on the side of Brainerd Road.  They've been working there for at least three weeks.  I'm not sure what their project is, but they have holes dug all along the side of the road.  They are near the completion of their project, and up until now it has been bland and uneventful as I passed by them.
     Until Monday.  As I passed by Monday afternoon, I almost missed it.  There was a hole in the ground just big enough for a man to fit it.  There was a guy laying on the ground trying to reach something, whatever, that one thing he needed to get his hands on and fix.  Or maybe he dropped his phone in there, who knows.  Apparently the thing was just beyond his reach, though.  So, right then another man grabbed his ankles and, with a little bounce, got a secure grasp on his legs and lowered him down, head-first, into the hole.  Thank God for rear-view mirrors or I would have missed it! 
     It all happened so quickly, but as I processed the situation I began to laugh out loud.  Literally, I threw my head back and opened my mouth and LOL'd!!  Can you imagine the first guy's shock as someone grabbed him and lowered him into that hole???  I think I would have had a little fear going on there.  Maybe even panic.  After all, I don't know how deep that hole really was.  Don't let go, man!  What are you doing?!  I wonder if the guy standing up gave the guy in the hole a warning?  What would OSHA say?
     As I read back over this, I don't think by reading this you can get the picture and enjoy the laugh as much as I did, but you get a little understanding about it.
     I've enjoyed the laugh and the memory all week.  Although, it did give me reason to think.  How many of us are like that first guy.  Head stuck in a hole while everyone else stands around and watches our struggle.  Maybe we have lost something down there that is important and needs to be retrieved.  Maybe we just want to hide away from the bustle of the world.  Maybe we just think there is something down there that we need and are groping blindly for hoping to eventually get the mysterious answer.  Whatever it is, as long as we are laying there, half of our body in the hole, we are enveloped in the darkness and dampness.  We can't see because the deeper we go the less light there is.  That thing we are desperately reaching for will always be just out of our reach.  Until we let God help. 
     We get stuck in the mud a lot of times, don't we?  The harder we try, the harder it is to get our feet pulled from the muck.  The muddier it gets, the deeper we sink.  Until we let God help.

     I waited patiently for the Lord;

he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear the Lord

and put their trust in him.

Psalm 40:1-3

 

 

     Will you be the one who just stands around watching, or will you allow the Lord to use you and reach your hand of support and encouragement out today to a friend, or even a stranger, who is hurting?  Who can you text, call, or visit?  What if you bought a card and mailed it to someone?  Even a message on Facebook will brighten someone's day.  Will you be the one? 

     If you are the one stuck in the mud, call out God.  He will hear you.  He will extend his hand of mercy and place your feet on a rock.  I've been there.  I've had my share of struggles.  I know he will.  He has given me a new song!