Our team headed to this beautiful resort in the mountains for a weekend team retreat in mid October..."encouragement and refreshment" were the goals of the weekend. Friday was beautiful - a sunny, cool fall day. The resort was beautiful and the mountains surrounding us were full of lush green trees with hints of yellow and brown; maybe not like the color of the Midwest or the east coast, but for here it was still color!
But now it was nearing 10pm on Saturday evening. Many of us were still hanging out in one of the cottages, talking and playing games when we were abruptly interrupted with this sudden evacuation. Everyone was told to immediately head to the hotel just up the hill, where some of us were staying. It was still raining - mud now flooding the drives of the resort and some yards surrounding the cottages. Some quickly gathered their things and left, rushing to their cottages to retrieve their things and head to the hotel. Others of us waited and watched the waves of mud and debris rush down the drive until someone was able to drive us through the mud and up the hill back to the hotel.
Some, like myself, simply had a car ride to the hotel, relatively uneventful, just wet and a little muddy. Others trudged through the rushing mud attempting to get back to their cottages on foot while men were yelling and instructing guests to stay away from the cottages and go to the hotel. Women and children were urged to leave their cottages and get to the hotel. In fact, a few members of our group were simply rushed into a car and taken to the hotel, driving through rushing mud only to watch a small brick retaining wall burst open from the force of the mud right before them.
But now it was nearing 10pm on Saturday evening. Many of us were still hanging out in one of the cottages, talking and playing games when we were abruptly interrupted with this sudden evacuation. Everyone was told to immediately head to the hotel just up the hill, where some of us were staying. It was still raining - mud now flooding the drives of the resort and some yards surrounding the cottages. Some quickly gathered their things and left, rushing to their cottages to retrieve their things and head to the hotel. Others of us waited and watched the waves of mud and debris rush down the drive until someone was able to drive us through the mud and up the hill back to the hotel.
Some, like myself, simply had a car ride to the hotel, relatively uneventful, just wet and a little muddy. Others trudged through the rushing mud attempting to get back to their cottages on foot while men were yelling and instructing guests to stay away from the cottages and go to the hotel. Women and children were urged to leave their cottages and get to the hotel. In fact, a few members of our group were simply rushed into a car and taken to the hotel, driving through rushing mud only to watch a small brick retaining wall burst open from the force of the mud right before them.
It was dark, it was rainy, it was muddy, and while some thankfully slept through it all from the safety of their hotel rooms, for others it was total chaos. After a long night, the next morning it was still raining, but thankfully the mud stopped flowing from the mountains behind us and now only water washed down it's course.
It was like nothing I have ever experienced before and nothing I ever want to experience again. But I also learned some things from being stuck in this mud...
Often we might feel like we get caught up in the storms of life. At different times the storms are more or less chaotic, maybe even traumatic. For some of us, we are just waiting on a ride to take us safely across the flowing mud and debris. But for others, we might be caught off guard, needing to gather all of our belongings at a moment's notice. Yet for others we are actually trudging uphill through the rushing waters, mud and debris trying to get to safety with our loved ones.
It was like nothing I have ever experienced before and nothing I ever want to experience again. But I also learned some things from being stuck in this mud...
Often we might feel like we get caught up in the storms of life. At different times the storms are more or less chaotic, maybe even traumatic. For some of us, we are just waiting on a ride to take us safely across the flowing mud and debris. But for others, we might be caught off guard, needing to gather all of our belongings at a moment's notice. Yet for others we are actually trudging uphill through the rushing waters, mud and debris trying to get to safety with our loved ones.
Life is unpredictable. One minute we can be enjoying good food, great company and the laughter of games, and the next minute we find ourselves in the midst of a chaotic and even frightening storm.
Thankfully there is One who is always constant and always present even in life's storms...Jesus. In fact, He allows the rain to fall and the storms to come, yet He also holds the power to stop the rushing mud. He is constant when life is not. And more than that, He doesn't leave us to trudge uphill through the mud alone! He has not only given us the gift of Himself, but He has also given us each other to persevere through the muddy waters and storms of life together.
Honestly, sometimes we aren't very good at this as a Church. The truth is, we don't really like mud. We don't like to get dirty. Or maybe I should say, we don't like to admit that we are dirty or to allow others to see it. We definitely don't like to walk into others' pristine house with our muddy shoes on. But let's be honest, haven't we all trudged through the mud and storms of life at times? Wouldn't it please and honor our Father if we helped one other through life's storms and muddy paths, pointing one another to Him, reminding each other of truth each muddy step of the way?
Thankfully there is One who is always constant and always present even in life's storms...Jesus. In fact, He allows the rain to fall and the storms to come, yet He also holds the power to stop the rushing mud. He is constant when life is not. And more than that, He doesn't leave us to trudge uphill through the mud alone! He has not only given us the gift of Himself, but He has also given us each other to persevere through the muddy waters and storms of life together.
Honestly, sometimes we aren't very good at this as a Church. The truth is, we don't really like mud. We don't like to get dirty. Or maybe I should say, we don't like to admit that we are dirty or to allow others to see it. We definitely don't like to walk into others' pristine house with our muddy shoes on. But let's be honest, haven't we all trudged through the mud and storms of life at times? Wouldn't it please and honor our Father if we helped one other through life's storms and muddy paths, pointing one another to Him, reminding each other of truth each muddy step of the way?
So I pray that we, as followers of Jesus, might continue to draw nearer to Jesus while we also draw nearer to one another. I pray that when we see a sister or brother stuck or trudging uphill through the mud, we would stop to help them through the storm. I pray that we would be willing to enter into the mud and walk alongside one another even if that means we also get dirty, or at least be present as our brother or sister works their way through the mud.
Sometimes, when we are in the midst of the storm or feel stuck in the mud, we just need to know that we're not alone, that someone is waiting out the storm with us or helping us get unstuck. And sometimes we can be the hands and feet of Jesus that others desperately need in their storms of life.
Are you caught up in a storm of life? Do you feel stuck in the flowing mud and debris of the storm? If so, where is Jesus in your midst or what is He saying to you, teaching you in this time? What or who do you need to help you through this storm, to remind you that you don't have to do it alone?
Or are there others in your midst in a raging storm or stuck in the mud? How can you enter in and be present with them in their storm? How can you be the hands and feet of Jesus to a brother or sister or to the hurting world around you in their storms of life?
