Watch Out! Big Hole Ahead!

Holes. Sometimes they just seem to get in the way of our lives, don't they?
I was reminded of the damage that one simple "hole" can cause this past weekend in, what our family lovingly calls, another one of my "Lucy moments." You know what I mean, the moments in life that you know will be funny "someday," but are rarely funny, to you at least, at the time?
Our family had gone to the drive-in movie Friday evening, we love the drive in, especially when the weather's great & we can sit outside & open up the windows, it's just so fun & the kids love it! As the movie began, I ventured off on my mission to get the popcorn & drinks for Troy & I, plus 4 kiddos. I was quite proud of myself for even being able to get back to the car without spilling even one single drop of coke or one kernel of popcorn! "Wow," I thought to myself, "I've become really great at handling alot of items at one time, what a mom, what a multi-tasker!" Ha! I thought I'd set the drinks down first & then get the popcorn passed out to everyone, but lo & behold, just as I went to set the drink holder full of drinks on the mini-van rooftop, I realized, all too late, that the sunroof was open. A BIG load of coke dropped right through the sunroof hole as quickly as I'd set it down! SPLASH!!! A flood of Coke & Sprite went flying everywhere, a sticky mess throughout the back seats & covering the floor mats, & even a bit on my dear husband too, sorry honey, UGH!!!
You see, sometimes we can't even "see" the holes ahead of time, but they're there alright, all around us, we just don't recognize them in enough time, until the damage has been done.

Sometimes the holes are what we fall "into." You know the kind...you're walking along, having just a pleasant kind of day, humming a little song, & all of a sudden...Bam! "AHHHHHH!" You fall right smack into one big dark HOLE! Maybe some of us have fallen into a big financial hole these days, or a hole that would seek to steal our health away, or maybe it's more of an emotional or spiritual type of hole, but whatever it is, you just can't seem to climb out easily & really don't even quite remember how you got there in the first place. Sometimes the pathway is more subtle, just a stumble across a hole set right in your path, but hey, a stubbed toe hurts worse than anything, doesn't it? All kinds of temptations can be like that simple "stumble." One here, another there, but they can set us on a course that ultimately leads us to a deeper, darker place, that seems too difficult to attempt to get out of anymore. These particular holes in our lives have the potential to cause complete havoc! They may first only cause a little stumble, a distraction, but may quickly lead to a gigantic fall, and inevitably, they are most certain to cause alot of "pain" along the way.

Sometimes the holes are "around" us, like the holes in our marriages, or in our parenting, or in our workplace, or the holes in various other relationships in our lives. We just never really get around to "patching things up" like we say we intend to someday. But just like a leaky roof, or a leaky boat, holes that are never tended to, never patched up, can cause a MESS in our lives & in the lives of those around us. It's so much easier to patch a leaky rooftop, than to clean up after a flood, isn't it? Easier to fix a hole in the boat than to watch it sink?

Sometimes the holes are actually "in" us, or a part of us, like the holes in our pockets. Just can't ever seem to keep the money in there long enough, know what I mean? You find your life in that vicious cycle of money in - money out. Or, maybe someone once told you, that you had holes in your head. You just can't seem to follow through with the choices you know would be best for you or for your family. Sometimes the hole that often gets us in the most trouble in life is the one called the great, big mouth. We just keep seeming to say things we really didn't mean to say, after all, they just "came out," right? Didn't mean it the way it "sounded?" Or maybe, very sadly, you find yourself in a place in life where there are huge needs, big holes, in your innermost being - at the very core of your heart. Now those are the holes we can often "pretend" are not even there. We can even get pretty good at keeping those holes a "secret." We'd hate for others to know how deep those hurts go, how much those holes are actually affecting our lives. I mean, what would they say? What would they think? Isn't it better just to keep all that inside?

Yep, trying to cover the holes in & around our lives, pretending like they're not really there, or denying that those little "stumbles" are really all that bad, can become our best coping mechanisms against the very pain we find ourselves in. We get so good at filling those things up with all kinds of activities, busyness, & pleasures from this world, trying to make everyone think, or to even make our own selves think, that we're, well, "O.K." We all just want to be "O.K.," don't we? When people ask us how we're doing, we really do want to be "fine, good, doing just great," exactly like the way we normally respond!
But the truth is, if we were really honest, most of us either have had, do have, or will have, big needs in this journey called life...big spaces, gaps, that only God Himself is able to fill.

Years ago, when I traveled through Europe, every time I rode a subway or train, I'd hear those repetive, loud words, "Mind the gap." Many of you international friends or those who travel alot know what I'm talking about. It's that firm, commanding, warning type of voice, reminding awaiting passengers to BE AWARE! WAKE UP! WATCH OUT for the "hole," the gap between the platform & the train as they prepare to step on.

Maybe that's kind of like God's words over us in today's world, yet His voice is much more loving, reassuring, protective as He speaks wisdom & caution to us - MIND THE GAP. Watch out for those holes that might cause you to fall, patch the ones that will help bring healing to relationships in your life, & don't ignore the ones you find deep in your own life. Mind it, take care of it, let God reach down, fill your needs, heal your wounds & set you free from whatever would seek to hold you down in life. Our God is a GREAT REDEEMER!

"I waited patiently for the Lord, he turned to me and heard my cry. 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. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God...Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust..." Psalm 40:1-4