When I was growing up, I had many opportunities to clean horse manure out of a stall. Later in life I dated a farmer, and on many occasions walked through the barn, and in my boots walked through the manure in all of its thick, gooey, pasty, stinky, nasty fullness. It never bothered me because I never was a "girly-girl". One day however, my boots got stuck while we were getting ready to clean it out with the Bobcat, because well, it was deep in there and I had slowed down my walk for some reason. I lost my balance and down I went, yep, right into the thick nasty stank of it all. I laughed hysterically until I realized I couldn't get out on my own. As much experience as I had in a barn, I still was no expert. After my boyfriend was done laughing he drove the Bobcat over and helped me up. We did laugh but I was a mess and had to go clean up. If you've ever spent any amount of time on a farm around animals and manure, you know that you specifically have clothes you wear only to the barn if you are spending any amount of time there, because the smell permeates every thread of your clothing and there isn't any amount of washing that's gonna change that. I was thankful to have learned that early on because the clothes I was wearing were not usable anywhere else but the barn, especially after this. Ha ha
When I was up and about, done laughing and able to move, he had asked me why I had stopped moving (which is what got me stuck). I said I had heard a slight noise behind me and stopped for a second to look. All the cows had been moved out so I couldn't figure out what it was...it was a cat up in the rafters. Ha ha.
In our lives we walk through a lot of crap...yep it's true. Some days it's easier to maneuver than others and we are able to move through it. Other days however it seems so deep, thick, pasty, and nasty and carries an odor that wants to permeate ever inch of you if we let it. The truth here is that looking backward isn't productive to moving forward. God wants us to keep our eyes fixed on Him and whatever you do, DON'T STOP, and don't look back. If you do, you may find yourself, once again, covered in poo from the past. Thank God we have a forgiving and loving Father who is there to help us every step of the way...especially when we fall. His Son paid the price to cleanse us from our sin. We've got to continue to move forward in the race He has for us, not stopping to look back, but keeping the momentum going forward, even when the crap is trying to pull us down in the process. I don't know what I'd ever do without Him, all my hope lies in Him. Without Him I'm sure I'd feel completely stuck in the crap and helpless. Praise God for His love and mercy. Bless you today as we all maneuver through life's obstacles and circumstances, and remember to keep moving forward with your eyes fixed on Him.
