As we go into the fall, and summer’s close, another season ending and another beginning, I begin to think about change. You know the change in weather, the change in leaves as the fall to the ground, and so many new starts for folks as school is around the corner. Then I begin to think about conversations with good friends I’ve had recently. Very close people to me who have been suffering in one way or another from something that I fear many suffer from. For lack of a better term, I will call it, “stuckness.” Maybe as you read this, you are saying to yourself, “That’s ME! I am stuck in a moment and I can’t get out of it.” (Sorry for the cheesy use of a great U2 song title. 😐 )I would like to try and offer the same advice to you that I offered one of my good friends .
A good friend’s text revealed her state of things that I think might resonate with some of you.
Does that ring true for you too?
Let’s look at different ways people try to get UNstuck.
1. Call a tow truck. Calling a tow truck in situations of severely stuckness is a very wise decision. It isn’t the cheapest way out but it has a much higher rate of success than any other method. It is essentially admitting that you can’t do it alone. This is a turn to a stronger power source than what is currently in your vehicle. our vehicle being you and your life and the power source that has a perfect record of success is Jesus. He NEVER fails, and will not only get you unstuck, but once you get out of the whole he hands you the keys to a brand new ride and then begins teaching you how to avoid quicksand and muddy areas in the future. Calling on Jesus is absolutely FREE, but I know that it often costs people a price that they are willing to pay until they get desperate enough: pride. Humbling themselves to the point of realizing that they need help. That they don’t have what it takes to get out of the mud on their own. Trust me you DON’T have what it takes to be a success in this endeavor. Every other method of getting out is a gamble or does not pay permanent dividends.
2. Get out of the vehicle and walk. For many this sounds like a great solution. Eventually they will give up on the current lifestyle and walk to a new direction. They will completely change old habits. Walk away from old friends, move states, pick upa new hobby. These are definitely great ways to get out of some unstuckness. Normally any of these changes will shake things up enough to get you some fresh air in a new situation. The problem with these is, the reason that you were stuck in the first place was because you walked into an area that was not solid ground. YOu made some life choices that lead to that stale routine. You made some choices that got the same old results. With this cure to unstuckness, you might find yourself loose from the mud, but you are not really sure of what to avoid for the future. You are still missing the knowledge of mud avoidance.
3. Keep Spinning Your Wheels. Unfortunately for many the keep spinning approach is their go to response. There is so much to be said for persistence and perseverance is a key to success in life, but persistence at what. When we are unsure of what we are doing, when we are headed in the wrong direction, when we are stuck in the mud, continuing to do the same thing we’ve been doing is NOT a wise option. That leads to the stuckness that got us where we are. That fuels a fire of hopelessness. This is probably one of the most common response to stuckness and is evident from my friend’s text.
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Albert Einstein
Get your feet off of the gas, simply moving won’t fix things. You need a new strategy. A new way of doing things. A fresh start.
4. Becoming Satisfied with the Mud. Others that have spent plenty of time spinning in the hopelessness of the mud pit rather than calling for a truck or even bailing on the vehicle themselves, will simply make a home in the mud. This is a scarily common route people take, because it is the easiest way. It lowers expectations on what life should be and it makes new agreements on what they deserve. I am not trying to say that we deserve happiness. I know with my horrible choices I deserve Hell and that for eternity, but Jesus offers us eternal and abundant life. Knowing that this is an option, it pains me to see people trying to smile while wallowing in the mud. There is a honor to being content in rough situations, but content with life without hope is a resignation to destruction.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 NIV
Don’t give up on your tomorrow because you are simply stuck in the mud today.
“If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.”
~Thomas Jefferson