There's Mud in My Mud Boots!

Yesterday was sunny, 70 degrees, and the irresistable urge to be outdoors won over everything else. The kids had found this "cool" place over the weekend, just north of the house. You know, it's one of those, go thru the woods, cross the neighbors yard, follow the creek, treks that I wasn't going to stop hearing about until I let them show me for themselves. So, here we go...And laugh if you want to...t-shirt, hiking shorts, and mud boots up to my knees. You know the ones, the black rubber ones. I had no idea we were going to end up on the side of Martha Berry Hwy or I would have re-thunk that look hahaha. I'm thinking, "I'm ready for this, outdoors, bring it on!" Of course, I'm never as ready as I think I am. There were inclines, and mixed with boots that had no grip, I spent too much time trying to figure out how to get up this and get down that without riding it out on my behind. And the shorts were a really dumb idea because the briars left me looking like I danced with a mountain lion. But, I'm not one to give up, or let my kids out-do me so I find myself tromping across streams, up hills, over mounds of brush, and into a tunnel, full of mud and water, and of a height that even my ridiculously short stature had to bend over to go thru. It wasn't long before I felt it. The mud boots had cracks in them. In comes the cold water, and the mud. Of course I was raising a rucous. I've never grasped the concept of being quiet, and the tunnel made for a pretty good magnified echo affect of my discomfort lol...
The fun though, outweighed the uncomfortableness, and before long, I didn't really notice the water and the mud squishing around my feet. Back through the tunnel, wack!!...nearly busted my head off a drop down, and up the hill to the top of an old train trussel. The kids and I were having a blast. It was a good day for sure! We backtrack to the creek and decide to see who can get to the rocks out in the water without overflowing the top of their boots. Water over the top meant "epic fail" and a definite loser. Taylor and Cody make it and of course began to taunt me. They know how clumsy I am so they were hoping, I'm sure, for some show of mom falling off the log and into the water like a turtle on it's back or something. But ha! I made it. Although when I stepped into the creek water, the cold once again, rushed into the boots, and this water was much colder than the water before. Oh well, it was all for the sake of a great afternoon, so I let it go and kept on playing, and I'm glad that I did. It seems like the days blend into each other too often, and sometimes I feel like I don't make as many memories with my kids as I should. From there, we went on to explore the rocks that jut out into the creek. It's an awesome place of huge rocks full of little caves that so many different critters could be hiding in. It brought back memories from my own childhood of exploring those very same rocks with my dad and my aunt. I was thankful for a day of sun and a day of fun, I wouldn't trade that spot in time for anything, really.

I was just thinking back over yesterday, and it hit me, that lives can be kind of like those mud boots. They "looked" functional. When I put them on, they "felt" functional, but when I stepped into the muck, and the water, there were cracks in them that let in what I would have preferred, had stayed out. Kind of like things that I may not realize can creep into my life, that need to stay out. And just like I got used to the feeling of the mud and the water, and didn't notice it after a few minutes; the same goes for those other things that creep in. I didn't notice the water in the boots after a while, until I stepped in "colder" water. That's almost like what happens to us when we allow for things, that we shouldn't, and get de-sensitized, and eventually don't pay attention to the Holy Spirit's nudging, until we step in a little deeper and feel Him again, and the process repeats itself. I got used to the colder water, just like I got used to the mud and water the first time.

I think the wisest choice would be to do two things. Number one: Keep the boots or "life" maintained and the cracks and holes in good repair so that the things that shouldn't be in, stay out. And, number two: when I find myself stepping into something that I shouldn't, at the first nudging of the Holy Spirit, pull back and repair the cracks in my life before moving forward.

So many times, life requires us to walk throught the muck. There may be no way around it, over it or under it. We just need to make certain that we are prepared, protected and covered while we go through it.