When I was in college, one of my good friends had a little Datsun car, I can’t remember what it was called, just that it was a little car that we would load up with four big ole country boys and head out to find swamp land somewhere in the Charleston, South Carolina area. We were looking for a place with some mud roads that we could get lost and stuck on. Once we located the biggest mud hole we could find, we would then drive that little car straight in, just as far as we could go, with the goal of making it through, but we were not at all heartbroken if we got stuck, because then the new challenge of getting unstuck became our focus and was really what we had the most fun doing and quiet honestly the reason that we were out there.

Now days, getting stuck is not so fun and getting unstuck can literally suck the life right out of you. You know what I’m talking about right? You finally seem to get your life headed in the right direction. You are cruising along, crushing goals and everything just seems fine and dandy. And then all of a sudden, out of no where, you come up on a mud hole. You decide to give it all and try to plough right through it, but sometimes even your best efforts leave you stranded and before you know it, you’re stuck. You try to get yourself out of the mess and ended up getting stuck even worse. Does it sound like I’m describing a real life scenario? Of course it does, because we’ve all been there and in fact, many of us find ourselves, sitting on the side of the road of life – tired, dirty, worn out and ready to give up…

Don’t throw in the towel just yet, because when life throws a mud hole in your direction, there are actually some steps you can take to get unstuck and maybe learn to enjoy the process along the way…

The next time you find yourself stuck, try a few of these steps, before you give up, give in and give out:

1. Learn From The Past And Let It Go! Whenever we got stuck, we had learned some tried and true methods that would work to help us get out. We had been stuck and gotten unstuck enough times to know that some things would work – like getting something under the tire, so we could get some traction. And some things wouldn’t work – like giving it more gas and just digging the rut deeper. In life, we all make mistakes and miss the mark. Learn whatever your mistake is supposed to teach you and move on. Stop digging your ruts deeper by overthinking your sins failiures and mistakes!

2. Change Your Perspective And See Things From A Different Point Of View! Whenever we got stuck, we would get out, survey the situation from all angles and then we would go to work. One of us pushing at the back wheel, one of us jumping up and down on the back bumper, one of us in the car, going from drive to reverse and one of us surveying the situation to see what we might be missing. I honestly can’t remember too many times that we couldn’t figure it out and if push came to shove and we were lost for ideas then out came what we called “THE COME ALONG” – a ratchet strap device that we would hook to the car and then to a nearby tree to tow ourselves out. Just remember that where there is a will, there is a way! Look at your life, challenge, mud hole as an opportunity to do things better and figure it out by looking at it from all points of view…

3. Get Some Help And Realize That You Were Never Intended To Do This Thing Called Life Alone! Every now and then as darkness began to approach, we would realize that we were out of ideas, strength and were probably left with only one option. And that was to call someone for help. If you’ve done everything you can, then there is absolutly nothing wrong with asking for help, in fact, that is what our Creator designed us to do. Pray about it, talk to others about what you are going through and then accept the help that is offered to you. I know it’s not easy asking or accepting help from others, but often times, it’s as big a blessing for them to help us as it is for us to receive their help.

Live life long enough and you are going to run into some mud holes and you are going to get stuck, don’t sweat it, learn to enjoy it, learn from it and move on down the road…