Quicksand...

One thing goes wrong, then another, and another, and another...  Before you know it, you are in over your head.  You can't move.  You can't scream.  I know what this feels like.  I am pretty sure most of us know what this feels like.  I hadn't thought about this in awhile in these terms.  It's also like the snowball effect.  It seems like the problem/problems keep getting bigger and bigger or deeper and deeper.  I have watched so many people struggle through 2018 for so many different reasons.  It seems as though quicksand may have been a theme for this past year which got me thinking.  How do we get out of the quicksand when it just wants to suck us deeper and deeper?

If you have seen the Princess Bride, Wesley uses some kind of vine to dive in and climb back out.  While this may not seem practical in real life, it is kind of what we should do.  We all need to have a vine in place or a system of vines.  My vines are my tribe, the people in my life.  I know there are different people in my life for different reasons.  I know who to call on when things seem bleak.  Having that hand of someone who cares about you there to pull you out is essential in surviving the quicksand.  

Without a vine to grab onto, we can continue to sink.  It can be so lonely when we are sinking and scrambling, trying to hold on.  It is easy to isolate in quicksand moments.  I think for me, I don't want to drag others down with me, but I have learned that I need them to help pull me back out.  This fall was tough for many reasons, and it could have been so much more difficult.  I leaned on those around me to help me keep my eyes focused on the light at the end of the tunnel.  Having vines in place won't just make the quicksand go away, but it will help you climb back out.  Sometimes the climb may be slow, but if you hold on tight, you can get back out.

If you are stuck in the quicksand right now, reach out to those around you.  If you don't have your vines in place, reach out to me.  Don't let it keep pulling you deeper.  Let this year close out, enjoy the last days of it, and move on ready to take 2019 by storm!

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