SPIRITUALLY STUCK

WINSDAY WISDOM 211 STUCK IN SPIRO MUD…AGAIN

Have you ever felt stuck emotionally? Spiritually Stuck? You are not alone.

It has some similarities to getting your car stuck in the mud. That can be a very frustrating experience. Even embarrassing. Trust me.

I love the sounds of a rainy day. Lots of rain can soften the ground. That is not a good time to drive a car through the mud. There is always a danger of getting stuck.

Stuck. Immoveable. Difficult to dislodge. Not going anywhere.

Long before my stuck on the beach sand fiasco, my car got stuck in the mud three times in two weeks!

I know what you want to ask me. Are you an idiot? Already heard that one. I was a teenager, so the answer is a given.

The first incident was at our house. Lots of rain for days. I planned to go out with friends that evening. Two visitor vehicles were parked behind my car in the driveway.

I was not patient. I was a teenager. I did not ask for help. I was a teenager. I decided to back up across the wet yard to get to the main road. I was a teenager.

The car quickly bogged down. I tried to extricate it from the mud. My spinning tires only sunk the wheels lower into the wet ruts. The noise alerted those inside.

My dad and uncle stepped out into the rain to check on me. Uncle Derwin was “aghast.” After a few questions regarding why I did not ask for someone to move the other vehicles or ask for help, my dad and uncle began the process of freeing my car from the mud pit.

They were covered in mud, head and clothes soaked from the rain. Both worked hard. Thankfully, Uncle Derwin lessened the tension with his sarcastic humor. Otherwise, I would have been grounded and my car would have stayed in the mud until the following day.

Only now do I fully appreciate the parental challenges of helping a teenager through a series of unnecessary crises.

Two days later amidst more rain, I backed my car out of the driveway next to the highway. I pulled along the shoulder, probably a little too close to the drainage ditch.

Our house abutted the main highway through our little town. A large grass-covered drainage ditch separated our front yard from the road.

As I slowly accelerated to move across the muddy shoulder, my car just slid sideways into the ditch. Of course, I made matters worse by trying to drive the car out of the ditch. The tires dug in deep.

Dad came to the rescue again. I do not remember him even asking how this happened. He just shook his head and told me to get out of the car. He took over the operation as he began to rock the car forward and back to get some traction.

Now this was embarrassing. I was a teenager. My car is stuck in a ditch in front of our house. Every passerby in town saw it and reported it to the Spiro Graphic, as well as the Bulldog High School rumor mill.

My best friend drove by and stopped on the shoulder. Mike had the newest and best car in town. A bright red Torino coupe, sports edition. Black leather roof with black interior. He was rightly proud of it. I was proud to be his friend and ride in the sweet machine with the modern 8-track stereo. It was the cutting-edge of music technology. (Google it.)

As I was explaining my situation to my laughing friend, Dad got the car moving…in reverse. The stuck car gained traction and speed as it began to climb the side of the ditch. Dad was coming out fast.

Mike’s eyes widened in fear. My look was even more desperate. I panicked. My car was about to crash into the back of Mike’s car. I did not think Dad noticed the arrival of the red automobile parked on the shoulder. Collision imminent.

We both yelled and jumped up against the back bumper of Mike’s car to cushion the impact. Mike valued his car. I valued our friendship. I was taking one for the team. Just not sure how that was going to be a buffer for the collision.

The ditched car raced backwards to the highway shoulder and Dad slammed on the breaks. There was a bumper…two sets of legs…and another bumper. No spaces.

Dad had seen Mike’s car. Our jumping in between the cars frightened him a bit. I think Dad called us ‘idiots.’ Only later did I realize how close I came to the end of any future participation in sports. Both legs would have been crushed. Mike would have become Dr. Ironsides.

Mike sped off without saying goodbye.

What was I thinking? I was a teenager.

It takes a few more years before guy teenagers realize they even have a mind. One of the primary reasons for a girl to marry a guy is so he can have someone to think for him.

God just made it that way. The first Adam said it long before Jerry Macguire’s girlfriend said it in the movie. “You complete me.”

The third incident happened the following weekend. It was more damaging and more embarrassing. I was still a teenager. An experienced stuck-in-the-mud teenager.

I agreed to babysit my two ‘overly competitive brothers’ while my parents went out to eat with friends in the nearby city of Ft. Smith. I say I agreed, but I doubt I had a choice. My parents said they would be back in time for me to meet my friends in Ft. Smith for a movie.

The time kept ticking away. Perhaps the raging storm might have delayed them. No excuse.

I was not patient. I was a teenager who needed to get to the movie.

As a dad and grandfather, I am quick to teach that “Patience is waiting with a smile.”

I doubt that I was smiling at the rainy conditions, or my brothers’ attempts to destroy the house beyond recognition.

My brothers were doing their typically annoying things. Bill wrestling Joe into a takedown hold. Only escape, “Say you are a big baby.” After much effort and energy were exerted, Joe would finally relent.

Bill: “Say you are a big baby.”  Joe: “Ok. YOU are a big baby!”

The next sounds were wails of more torture. It was always a classic contest of two strong wills. The comedic youngest brother, Joe, refused to give up, while Bill laid the groundwork for his post-graduate thesis, “The Art of Taking Agitation and Aggravation to a Higher Level.” The university awarded him a doctorate.

I stood at the door staring at the headlights passing by our house. I was anxious and probably a little angry. Finally, the family car pulled into our driveway,

I ran through the wet grass to hop into my car. It would have been nice to run to my parent’s car with an umbrella for Mom. I was a teenager. As we passed in the yard, Mom asked if the boys were okay. I yelled that one was a big baby and the other was in a headlock.

The rain was pounding hard. My heart was pounding harder. I was in a hurry. As I exited our town, I accelerated down the straightaway. My car hydroplaned.

Hydroplane–to slide uncontrollably along the wet surface of the road. The tires lose traction. The car slides on a thin layer of water. Car surfing. It is dangerous.

I lost all control of the car. I was just along for the ride. I began to slide off the road.

MY CAR ROLLED INTO THE CITY LAKE.

That’s correct. The city lake. My car swerved off the highway, down the incline, through the weeds, and into the edge of the water. My car was partially submerged and stuck in the city lake.

I was so confused I could not even draw a blank. Fortunately, my rescue did not require a lifeboat. I waded through waist-deep water and rain-soaked weeds. My shoes sank into the muddy turf. I waved down a passing car.

Embarrassing? This was much more of an attention getter than my previous highway blunder. There were not a lot of really important things that happened in our town. This spectacle was better than the double feature at the drive-in.

I think the whole city showed up…in the pouring rain. I can still see them lined up along the highway, soaked, pointing at the lake.

There is something to be said about a time when there were no camera-equipped iPhones. The only social media we knew was the town gossip shared at the beauty parlor or barber shop.

Someone called Dad who had to call a wrecker service. The wheels were in the water and the A-frame was broken.

Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain
Telling me just what a fool I’ve been
I wish that it would go and let me cry in vain
And let me be alone again. —Listen to the Rhythm of the Falling Rain (The Cascades or Ricky Nelson’s version)

Just let me be alone. How many times do I have to say, “I don’t know what happened. I was driving east, and my car went south. Next thing I knew, I was in the middle of the lake.“

My driving reputation took another hit. I was the talk-of-the-town, until our Barney Fife deputy backed his patrol car through the window of Jack Briley’s coffee shop.

For years, I had to drive by our city lake…even after I was no longer a teenager.

Getting stuck is not a thrill. Driving into a lake is not a life highlight. It can be stressful and exasperating. I hope you have not been there.

More likely than not, you can identify with the times when I felt trapped in a spiritual rut. Have you been there?

The world-wide evangelist, Billy Graham, stated, “It is not uncommon to go through a dry spell—a period of time when you are just trying to make it through the day and don’t have the energy, mental capacity, or interest in spiritual things that matter.”

The dictionary definition of an emotional rut is “something which has become dull, dry, or unproductive, but difficult to change.” If you are in a spiritual rut right now, you do not need a description; you know the feeling.

Life stuck in circumstances. Thoughts stuck on repeat. Spinning your spiritual wheels and going nowhere fast. Digging deeper ruts of discouragement. Sinking into apathy and despair.

Perhaps you are no longer living in the beautiful technicolor of life. You are stuck in the dull black and white version. Your spiritual life feels routinely blah. It often appears hopeless of recovery. Do not settle for spiritual mediocrity.

Find hope in the truth that God pursues you all the days of your life, even when you are not running after Him (#1 Textbook). God pursues you as if you are the only sheep in His flock (#1 Textbook).

God desires to deepen His loving relationship with you. Spiritual ruts are not a deterrent to Him. Even if this is not your first time stuck in some spiritual mud.

Spiritual stagnation can be as detrimental to your emotional well-being as spiritual drifting. This is not just a teenager thing. The most spiritual among us battle sliding into a spiritual rut. Biblical heroes of faith struggled.

Feelings can be as fickle as a teenager’s reasoning. You might need to get out of your “Autopilot” setting. It might help to actually ‘take a walk’ or ‘laugh’ a little.

Our Heavenly Father encourages us to “walk in love.” Walking is a simple action, but often complex in nature. Walking implies (1) Purpose, (2) Direction, and (3) Progress.

Go for a little spiritual progress today. Take a baby step. Read something from the #1 Textbook. Even if you do not “feel” like it. One suggestion is read Psalm 27 and preach to yourself the final verses. It will do your heart good.

Read Psalm 42. “Do not be discouraged. Hope in God.” When you are spiritually stuck, you need Hope. Keep praying that last verse.

Another suggestion is Psalm 19. God speaks to us through:

(1) the Skies (vs. 1-6)

(2) the Scriptures (vs. 7-11)

(3) our Soul (vs. 12-14).

God’s creation is a musical rhapsody preaching to us, both day and night, about the greatness and goodness of God. The cosmic music melody surrounds us whether we are sailing the smooth seas or stuck in the mud. It draws your mind and heart out of the spiritual rut of self-centeredness.

Go calm your soul with a beautiful sunrise or sunset. Lose yourself in the awesome magnitude and magnificence of the stars.

Look at the skies again and go look at the Scriptures again.

God’s Word is personal. It claims to be able to “revive the soul” and make the foolish-like-a teenager into a “wise person.” It can transform our lives in any situation, from mountain-top highs to spiritual ruts. God’s Word connects you to Hope. Give it a try.

Ask the Lord for help. Get out of the driver’s seat. Your Heavenly Father knows how to drive through your circumstances. Listen to God. Talk to God. You will start moving again, even if it starts slowly.

And before you get to moving on down the road, let me pass on another driving tip from my dad after another rescue mission for a stranded teenage son who ran out of gas.

“It costs the same to fill up the top half of the gas tank as the bottom half.”

Now that is some real WINSDAY WISDOM!