I have been wanting to blog for a few days now, but I'm clean out of inspiration. In fact, I have no motivation to do anything lately. I think it's a textbook case of the blues. Yep, I'm in a rut. And getting into a rut is never good, particularly because it leads to deeper problems. By that, I mean you dig yourself deeper. Now, we often say that we are in a rut, but I want to look at it from a different angle. I want to talk about what it's like to create a rut in our life and what that can turn into.
First it starts as a rut, which is a small indent, generally from a tire. Not a big deal, right? It isn't very big at all. It doesn't do much damage. Right? However, the thing about any amount of indention is that it displaces material, leaving room for debris from the environment to land in it. Trash, leaves, rain water. You name it, and it'll most likely find it's way in. So, even though it's small, it begins to collect litter. Not to mention that it's easy to create one. Once the ground gets even a little bit weak or soft from the rain, it doesn't take much pressure at all to create a rut.
How does this relate to our lives? Well, I think of a rut as the chipping away of our defenses, of growing weary, of beginning to let our guards down. We soften ourselves just like the rain softens the ground. We become susceptible to the influences and pressures outside of us. It isn't long before those negative thoughts that used to bounce off of us start to creep into our minds and get rid of the positivity that we once had. It rarely takes much for frustrations and discouragement to displace hope and perseverance. We let our guards down, the difficulties that we face remove the positivity with in us, and from there, the "debris" from around us is welcome. The negativity in the world begins to influence our attitude, our treatment of others, and our relationship with God. But still, it's just a small change, right?
Wrong. A rut in the ground, if the erosion continues further, can become something even bigger. A small indention can turn into a ditch. The biggest problem I find with ditches is that they begin to cause more issues. Often, car accidents are caused by or end in a ditch. Either the driver drives into it or in the midst of an accident, they land in it. And even more so than with a rut, it is hard to get out of one.
The analogy again relates back to us. A rut in our lives can be dealt with early on. When we start to lose hope or get weary, we need to recognize it and ask for God's hand to get us out. At that point, it isn't so hard to get ourselves back into the right mindset. However, if we let that discontent continue to breed within our hearts, we dig ourselves deeper, displacing more positivity. Remember, anything positive within us is from God, so when we remove it, we also begin to remove God and the influence that He has in our lives. Again, that makes room for more negative influences.
And it becomes more difficult to climb out of it, because you can't make use of those tools you would normally use to help you. All of those positive influences of God were displaced, so you leave yourself morally destitute and confused. Imagine that I, someone with very poor vision, threw my glasses out. Now, I'm blind and stuck. Maybe the tools that I need are right in front of me or maybe there's a ladder, but I can't see anymore. That's what it's like to remove the influence of God. It blinds us. The tools are there, but we can't make use of them without Him to help us see.
Going back to the driving analogy, also consider how a ditch in our life can cause others to fall. By being negative, we can cause others to follow our lead. We are examples. Like it or not. We were made to lead, and we do, even if we are unaware of it. People are already watching us for what to do and following us for that matter. If I fall into a ditch and you're following me, before I realize it, you might be right next to me. I also don't want to cause further damage if you're already in the midst of an accident. Landing in a ditch will not help your cause. I have a responsibility to the people behind me to make sure that I am not leading them astray. My attitudes, my behaviors, my speech... everything can hinder other people if they are not used in the proper ways. When we create a ditch in our lives, we create one for others too.
So, do you see how a small rut can grow? It becomes a ditch, and it won't stop there. It will just continue to get deeper and harder to get out of. I need to nip this in the bud so that I won't dig myself even deeper. Honestly, I've been there before. It took years to get out of it, and I realize now, more than ever, that I don't have years to waste.
Have you ever created a rut or ditch in your life? How did you get out of it? Are you in the same place as I am right now?
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