Eventually Unstuck

Crunching around on the road I realized that this was a problem. I could not get out. My wheels were only digging an ever larger pit in the mud, and I was going nowhere. What’s more, I’m pretty sure this was the only ditch I had seen on that entire stretch of road. Of course.

My optimism couldn’t be killed though, not yet. Initially several people passed by in their vehicles outfitted for such terrain, unlike me. The conversations would go like this:

Them: You stuck?  
Me: Sure am! 
Them: Is someone coming to pick you up?
Me: Not that I know of, one guy offered when he comes back down the road 
Them: Well you got a chain or a rope or something?
Me: Nope!
Them: Well…. We don’t either……….
Me: No problem! I’m kinda enjoying myself 
Them: Well.. Sorry. Hope you get out!

Yeah, that's mighty stuck. 

Then they’d take off. Feeling bad, but not too bad I imagine. I was fine with it. It was too pretty outside. And I had an un-killable mood. 

Did I mention I had skipped lunch? I had skipped lunch. For some reason I was really ready to get on the road. That kinda compounded the whole experience. I think going into it I thought it was going to be some sort of noble fast, but it totally wasn't. Wouldn't wanna get too holy. 

Anyway. 

It was the middle of the day and the sun was high, but it was still cold. Eventually vehicles stopped coming by. It had been about half an hour since I found myself in this mess.

Being a verbal processor I walked around my truck, stood at a distance and said out loud “Well, I’m stuck and I can’t get out by myself.”

Then a thought so simple smacked me in the head that I started laughing hard. Like, a deep belly laugh.

Guys, God has a sense of humor. He isn’t sitting up there like some stoic judge with no expressions or emotions. I think He likes messing with us the way we mess with each other. And He was definitely messing with me.

The face of a man who has no idea what to do. 

I had come out to the woods to have this incredible spiritual experience. Or so I thought. I had planned to meet God by the waterfall and maybe have Him come down and speak with me. Or something.

But God knew better and decided I needed something else. He decided I needed a very visual analogy of my situation. Something so simple I couldn’t over analyze or rationalize it. I just had to accept it.

I was feeling stuck spiritually and I didn’t know what to do. So God had me (maybe “helped” me) get stuck physically, and have me realize that there’s no way for me to get out on my own. I could spin my wheels and shove and push, but I wasn’t going anywhere on my own.

Basically, I was feeling spiritually stuck and God is the only one that can come tow me out. Whatever was making me feel stuck, I couldn’t get out alone. No matter how much I felt I deserved to be there, or how much I tried I was not gonna budge on my own.

He’s the only one that can help me. And for some reason, I hadn’t asked. I was trying to do it on my own. To fix it by myself. To figure it all out.

Ridiculous.

I came to all these realizations while sitting in my truck bed (still at a 45º angle). I was journaling and waiting for a good Samaritan outfitted with some kind of cable or rope to come by.

Awesome. 

After several more people drove past, some were definitely characters, 3 guys showed up at once. A genuine Georgia mountain man, an older fly fisherman, and a younger guy out of college.

The mountain man and the young guy couldn’t really help, but the older man had a jeep and a tow rope. The other two watched to make sure everything worked out while the older man towed from my spiritual ditch. It was serious, too. He had to of towed me 10-15 feet before I was able to get out of the rut.

After that I thanked the men and was on my way….

Just kidding, I got stuck again. God really wanted to drive the point home.

I was trying to turn around and go back the way I came, so I was backing up down this tiny slope onto a campground covered in snow. A young family was down there in their truck, and as I was backing up I almost slid into their vehicle. The man came running up to tell me and I tried to pull forward….

No dice.

So after getting him to push, and then both of us pushing and having his wife drive we were able to force Ivan to fishtail back onto the road to get traction. Then they guided me as I did a 400 point turn on the narrow road to turn Ivan around.

They were very nice people. Something else I learned is that not all people are terrible. Or even mean. Or even bad. Some people just want to help. Forgetting this fact is what makes people so distrusting and cynical, I think. Takes away from life.

Regardless, I was over the Long Creek Falls trail road and high tailed it back out of the woods. Seriously, I sorta hydro-(ice?)-planed like 10 times. But I was NOT going to get stuck again.

Ivan and I eventually made it out of the woods and headed to our palace for the evening. Our pride was wounded, of course. We proved to be inadequate compared to the snowy wilds of North Georgia. But on the whole, I was happy. Because God had spoken to me, and He had done it in a really funny way.

 Wasn't going anywhere.

It was a restful weekend, and well needed time away. It was short, but it was necessary. And full of good stories.

My take aways? Don’t miss the simple, yet glaring, truths that God is throwing at you.

Don’t ask Him to show you what to do unless you’re ready for Him to show you what to do.

And whatever you do, don’t try and do it alone. God not only can help, He absolutely wants to. The way a father wants to be with his kids, God wants to go on your adventures with you. Be with you when you’re fired up, and when you’re telling jokes. When you’re down in the dumps, or on the mountain top.

He just wants to hang out. Maybe teach you a few things along the way.

Man… He sure is cool, isn’t He?