Pits, Holes in the Sidewalk, and Cracks

There's plenty of times in life when we might feel like we are in a deep pit, struggling to get out, with no one to help us reach the top. Yet God is always there. The deeper the pit, the sooner he hears our cries. With faith and trust there is no pit deep enough to contain us. To keep us from "becoming" the person we are meant to be. Sometimes we are in the pit from no fault of our own and yet there are times in life when we have put ourselves there. In the darkness alone and lost, we moan our choices and promise to do better. Yet sometimes we find that we end up in the same pit over and over and over again. There is a lesson to be learned and we are being a bit pig headed about it.  I'm reminded of the following.....

“I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost... I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place.
But, it isn't my fault.
It still takes me a long time to get out.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in. It's a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault. I get out immediately.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

I walk down another street.”

 

Portia Nelson from There's a Hole in My Sidewalk   

 

I'm reminded of my spiritual quest by the above excerpt. The beginning of the quest is like being lost and helpless. It takes a long time to even start. Along the way there are many sidewalks and many holes. Sometimes falling in isn't my fault. Life's circumstances propel me into the hole but it is still my responsibility on this quest to find a way out. Sometimes the holes become a habit, a way to neglect my spiritual quest and fall idle in the search. Eventually I learn  to walk around the holes and at some point I just walk down another street.

 

 In this quest, I go from feeling powerless and lost to having a real sense of direction and knowing the sidewalks I want to travel. God could reach out at any point and "save me" from the holes I blunder into. Yet what would I learn from this intervention? How would I grow and "become" without the learning that happens in the pits and holes in the sidewalk?

 

 

Instead God lets me blunder along, while giving me the strength to continue. He finds that tiny crack in my soul and He nurtures it and allows beautiful things to grow in me and in my life. On this quest of life and becoming, there is no better companion to walk with.  

 

 

Hugs to all of you. If you find yourself in a pit or falling down that hole in the sidewalk, know you are not alone. Know also that beauty and grace are with you and you can become as the flower in the sidewalk crack, reaching toward the sun, growing in your spiritual quest, nurtured by God's love.