Help! I’m Stuck!
Last Thursday evening I found myself in a real pickle. I decided about 5:00 PM to hook the slip (dirt hauler) onto the tractor and rebuild the dam on my pond in front of the house that had washed away. It was a small job, and though I was really tired, I knew it would be a low impact task. Boy, was I wrong.
I selected the place to get the dirt from and made my first dig. Then I proceeded to the location of the dam. Carefully backing into it, I dumped the first load. Now what you have to do in a situation like this is to build your passage way as you go. You drop a load to one side and then one to the other. The next trip, you back onto the last loads and keep inching your way back until you fill in the hole. I knew better than to let the tractor touch any area that had been washed away. It was wet and boggy and I knew what would happen.
Everything was going fine. I had hauled enough dirt to fill the hole completely. I got off the tractor and made my final inspection. It looked to me like it needed one more load. The dam had washed away because when I put the dirt in before I lacked about an inch of dirt getting enough. When the water level became greater than the dam… out she came. Being older and wiser, I knew I must put a little more dirt… but just a little. This time, instead of backing in like before, I decided to go forward across the dam I had built, spreading the last load evenly across the whole span. Just as I tripped the slip to make it dump, the left back tire of the tractor eased off into a soft place. I knew I was in trouble now. The slip was holding me in the back and the mud was drawing me in like quicksand. Before I knew it, only about four inches of the back tire was sticking up above the ground. I was soooooooo stuck!
There was nothing else to do but get some help. I killed the tractor and walked up to Mr. Sartor’s hoping to find him at home. Now the Sartor’s are fine Christian people. When I told him what happened, without judgement or “I told you so’s” he got his tractor and came and pulled me out. It took several tries, but, bless his heart, he got me out. What a wonderful neighbor!
Isn’t life in Christ suppose to be like that? Someone gets stuck and another brother simply pulls him out. Listen! “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Gal. 6:1-2).
Mr. Sartor didn’t yank and jerk because he didn’t want to harm my tractor. When he couldn’t get it from one angle, he would simple move over until he found another from which to pull. He was so patient. He didn’t rush it. He just consistently worked at it until the job was done. Once it was over, he smiled, waved and went on his way. As he drove away all I could do was admire him.
When people get stuck we need to be there to pull them out. They may come to us, as I did to Mr. Sartor, or we may just happen by and see the need. I know that Mr. Sartor would have reacted the same way if he had just stumbled upon the situation instead of being asked.
People today are living lives on the edge of trouble. Getting stuck isn’t planned. It just happens. You get your wheels in the wrong place at the wrong time, and before you know it, you are knee deep in the mud of sin.
If Jesus had a tractor, He would have pulled me out. But wait a minute, I guess He did!