Starting the Journey-Standing in the Mud

In the Middle of the Mess

Life is messy.  In case you didn't
notice this before--wait a few days and the mess will find you. 
Sometimes the mess you find yourself in is from a quick wrong step--you lose your balance and poof!  you are stuck in the mud.

But the more subtle way that mess can find you is that as you are standing on solid ground, -- a tiny bit of water seeps up.You don't even notice as you are looking up at the beauty all around you.  You can't feel it at first.  But the longer you stay there, the more water trickles in, surrounding your feet and creating a deep, deep mud. Sticky mud. Yucky mud. Mud that you suddenly realize is holding you fast.  Mud that demands you really struggle to free yourself.

I find myself stuck in this kind of subtle mud.  I've had a subtle sin that has crept up in my life--holding me fast.  It has kept me from growing in my faith.  It has hurt my family.  It has hurt me.
The subtle trickle that leaked into my soul is bitterness.  Disappointment, misunderstanding, endless rehearsals of how I think things should be--going so far back as I can remember.  

This bitter mud is deep and has been paralyzing.  I would die here, alone in a bitter woods, were it not for two sisters who took the time with me to find my feet in the muck, and to encourage me to start marching. 

I am not out yet but I can see the tops of my toes for the first time in a long time.   I will start the struggle.   


Psa 40:2   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.