In or Out?

Ever have one of those "Uh-oh" moments? You know the ones ... something seems like such a good idea at the time, and then you follow through on that idea and find that you've gotten yourself into a situation that you just simply cannot get out of no matter how hard you try. Like the time it seemed like a great idea to try and fix the shower upstairs in my kids' bathroom, and I ended up flooding the ceiling of my bathroom downstairs. Three days later, I was finally finished scraping, priming and painting my bathroom ceiling and had called a plumber to fix the upstairs shower. Now that, my friends, was a brilliant idea. Or the time it seemed smart to me to eat a whole watermelon in one sitting to prove I could do it. My life, it seems, has been peppered with ideas, genius ideas, that seemed so good at the time and turned out to be not so good in the long run.

Last Friday, I had a big run-in with my kitchen floor ... not fun, not fun at all. And it happened on the eve of another one of my super smart ideas; I was planning to get in my car alone the next morning and drive 700 miles to see my brother and sister. In my up close and personal greeting with the floor, I managed to crank my elbow and shoulder in pretty good fashion ... enough that I've now been wrapped and in a sling for a week. The next day after my injury, following a very sleepless night, lots of tears and two painful doctor visits complete with multiple x-rays, I got the incredibly awesome idea that perhaps I could get comfortable in my quilted hammock outside and get some much-needed sleep. No pressure points ... two pillows ... my Bible ... sleepy dogs ... gorgeous cool day ... it seemed like such a wonderful idea at the time.

After 20 minutes of trying, I finally managed to get myself in the hammock ... and the minute I was in, I realized there was absolutely no possible way that I was going to be able to get out of the hammock on my own. Rather than panic ... OK, truth is I panicked in a big way thinking I was going to die in my hammock and the mailman would find me. I laid there with tears streaming down my face, partly because I was dumb enough to think getting in the hammock was a good idea and partly because I was injured and in pain. As is so often the case, it was in my broken and wounded state that God began to whisper to my heart in a big way. And as is also so often the case, it takes me being broken and wounded before I really, really listen to my Lord.

When I think of how many times I go storming into situations without asking God's direction or guidance, I am amazed that I am ever able to get out when things don't go well or work out the way I imagine they will. Trapped in my hammock, unable to get out under my own power, God's whispering voice became a thundering reality ... I need to trust Him first, ask Him first, listen to Him first ... not after I'm stuck, but before I ever go to the place where I can't get out.

Thank You, Lord, for getting me out when I get myself in, for Your forgiveness of my headstrong actions, for Your patient longsuffering of my stubborn will ... thank You, thank You, thank You, Lord.