Stuck-ish

There are few things more frustrating than being stuck.  Period.  And not the kind of stuck like bubble gum on the bottom of your shoe stuck.  No, I mean stuck in the sense of you cannot advance to the destination that you are intended to be.  Something is prohibiting you, stopping you, or blocking you from moving from point A to point B.  Often times we don’t realize we are stuck until we make an attempt to move forward.  Physically being stuck can make a person want to scream!

When I was little, we had neighbor who I simply adored.  Every time he would come home from work, I could hear his truck pulling up.  Sometimes he would blow the horn to let us know he was home.  I would run to this little vertical window in our dining room that faced his house and driveway.  Now this window was very narrow and it had these decorative iron bars on them.  I would press my little face into the bars with my hands holding on to the sides.  All of this, just to yell to him a hello and that I would be right out to talk to him!  Lol.  After doing this for what seemed like a million times, you would think that I would have listened to my mother tell me to stop doing that at some point.  Well, one day was the million and one time and as you could guess…yep, I got my head stuck!

I pulled and pulled but no luck!  I remember pulling and getting hot and frustrated from being stuck in this ridiculous position.  How did I get here and why did it happen this time?  Eventually, they were able to free me and I never put my face to that window again!  But in this life we have to live, there will be times that we may find ourselves stuck.  The problem is not that we get stuck, but that we don’t know how to get unstuck.  Perhaps it’s not the physical aspect of being stuck, but the mental and spiritual areas in which we are stuck.  There will be times where we get ourselves stuck from disobedience.  There will be times when we become stuck due to not knowing what to do next.  But we serve a God, that has laid out an abundant life for us!

Everyone has a past.  There are many that do everything they can to get away from their past.  Have you ever felt like no matter what you do, something or someone from your past is always popping up?  It’s almost like the Jack-in-the-Box toy.  Life is going along fine, the music is playing and then BAM!  That stupid little clown pops up out of nowhere!  The funny thing about the Jack-in-the-Box, is that we know it’s in the box the whole time.  The only way that the clown can get out of the box is if we continue to turn the lever and let it out!  And just like this clown, your past is going to pop up, but it shouldn’t scare you because you know that it’s there.  The difference is that, sometimes, other people are bringing your past up and other times, we allow our thoughts about the past to cripple us.

Have you ever felt crippled by the pain of your past?  The mistakes, hurt, pain, and fear can all but paralyze us.  Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.  The way we process the past can have a direct impact on our ability to live and grow into our best selves.  You have not overcome your entire life’s circumstances to get to a point and stay stuck!  Being stuck is not a problem, but staying stuck is!  You have a gift that the world needs and it is time to rethink, refocus, and remind yourself that you are not your past!

I think of not being stuck, but stuck-ish.  Stuck-ish is the space between being stuck and getting un-stuck.  It’s the space that represents change.  A changed mindset, a changed perspective, a changed heart, and a changed atmosphere.  The book of Isaiah chapter 43 verse 18 declares a new beginning in life and a charge to move beyond the past:  18“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  19 See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. 

Are there areas that are keeping you stuck?  I encourage you to work on moving from stuck to stuck-ish.  Move towards the beginning of being free!  Put your confidence in the promise of God.  We may not be to the place as we should be, but we must continue to move forward!  God is doing a NEW THING!

Philippians 3:12-14

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Be blessed y’all!