Isn't this picture beautiful. Let me tell ya something, looks are deceiving! No seriously, it is beautiful and I took this picture last fall with the kids. Down this gravel road is where we take the kids fishing. It's actually a very beautiful drive. Today we decided to release the box turtle that we saved and nursed back to health. Jaron and I thought it would be the perfect place for the turtle since it is in a national forest. One our way there we found two more box turtles in the middle of the road so we stopped and gathered them up as well.
When we thought we had found the perfect spot I decided I would do a 3 pt turn and that is when we took a turn for the worse! What in the world was I thinking! Actually what I was thinking is it would be easier to do a 3 pt turn than travel 2 more miles to turn around. Boy was that a very very stupid idea. As I turned and was backing up we got stuck! The dirt on either side of the gravel road was soft and moist from the rain we got over night and I never even realized it! So, Yes stuck in the middle of a national forest with no one around, no cell phone and had we had the cell it wouldn't have mattered because there is no service out there. So trying not to panic and cause Jaron to flip out I kept saying to myself, "Lord help me please!" Jaron and I did all kinds of things such as throw more gravel under the tire, found med. size branches to give the tire some friction, I made him sit it the back of the van adding a little of weight to the back and did a LOT of praying. After about 20 minutes I think both of us were begining to panic. In front of the van was a not so nice 45 degree incline into a creek. Going forward really made me nervous and a bit scared to be honest.
So as I climbed into the van for the 8th time I told Jaron we had no choice we had to try to go forward and hope we could get out...now let me just stop right here and say we had many trees in front of the van so sliding down the incline was not going to just happen but it still was a very scary thought. So we prayed and I turned the wheel and slowly push on the gas. I went forward about 3 ft and hit a stump hidden under the brush. Which then worried me that I was stuck on the stump but I back up about and foot and turned the wheel and pushed forward and gunned it! Thank goodness we got out, Jaron and I both were thanking Jesus repeatedly.
As we drove home Jaron and I talked about what we learned through that situation and God started showing me some things about that little yet not so fun adventure. Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that either we have caused or have just happened and we tend to do what I did today when we got stuck...go backwards. We try to undo what we have done, go backwards, live in the past or in some cases people just quit/give up and stop trying. When all they (we) have to do is push forward even when the outcome may not be what you expect. Sometimes going forward takes more faith than staying in the past or staying stuck. I was truly scared that I was either going to slide into a larger tree or get the van even more stuck. But that's not what happened. We have to put our imaginations to rest and push forward and trust God for the outcome. It's so much easier to just keep trying other things instead of trusting God or pushing forward. I talked about being stuck in a stagnant pool the other day on my other blog Broken Potterie and about how we have to get out of the muck and get in the river where God is. I think these two topics go hand in hand. Pushing forward when we are stuck is just like getting into the river of God. Both often times take courage and definitely take faith and trust in God's hand in our lives.
Today was a lesson learned and I hope that you have learned something as well through our experience today. Another lesson learned today...never do a 3 pt turn on a gravel road after it has rained! Thank you Jesus for helping us get out of this very sticky situation!
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