He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Genesis 28:12-13
We’ve been experiencing monsters in the backyard, and today they multiplied. This creates two different reactions in my house. One is awe from my hubby and sons as they turn into their 4-year-old selves with noses practically pressed against the windows. The other is distrust from the big, brave poodle when the huge claw comes close to the house. Right now, he decided if he can’t see it, it can’t see him.
It’s the second day of hard work for the crew that’s putting in a whole new septic system at our house. A project that has been long in the works. Dirt and gravel have been delivered, holes have been dug, tanks have been put in, and dirt and gravel have been spread. This is a step in the process of some changes in our lives.
There have been a couple things that have stuck out to me, besides the guy operating this equipment being truly gifted. He is so precise in handling the massive excavator it’s as if there’s a solo dance going on out there. I wouldn’t want him to know my thinking though, since that might seem a bit girly. Let’s talk about what I learned.
First, our old yellow lab is still daring my hubby to find him even after death. When he died, we had his ashes sealed and put into a concrete slab which we buried in a spot he liked to rest in our backyard. Imagine our surprise from finding out they were going to be digging up that area! My hubby and boys got their shovels out with the little 3×5 card giving the measurements where he was located.
The amateurs started digging before the professionals could get here. Guess what? They couldn’t find the old boy. Now, in a way, this didn’t really surprise us. He was definitely my dog, and the hubby had a bit of a rocky relationship with him.
It irritated my hubby to no end when he tried to give him a command only for him to be ignored and have him turn toward me to find out if he should listen. This was especially the case when he was running free outside. He tended to hide behind round bails of hay when my hubby would call for him. The recall didn’t work too well until I came out.
Yes, my beautiful boy is still hiding from him. I like to think of the big grin that would appear on the old boy’s face when he’d win the battle of hide-and-seek with my hubby. We told the guys working on the septic to keep an eye out for our dog, but so far, no luck.
Second, when I glanced outside today, I saw a hat moving in that gigantic hole. There was a guy in there! It made me wonder about how he got there and how he’d get out. For some odd reason, a crazy picture popped into my head of a ladder (kind of like our folding attic stairs) appearing from the top. I know…there wasn’t a top! Anyhow, it dawned on me that he caught a ride from that skilled driver. He had hopped onto the bucket and allowed himself to be carried there. He was at the mercy of someone else!
This got me thinking about holes we’ve gotten into that were too high to climb out on our own. There was no doubt in my mind that the guy in the hole today was going to hitch a ride back out, but are we always so sure our situations are going to have the same outcome? The holes we often find ourselves in sure aren’t physical, yet a ladder is needed so we don’t feel hopeless and trapped.
If the LORD would show Jacob a ladder after the hole he made for himself in Genesis, don’t you think that He’d do the same for us? Just like Jacob who received promises, that ladder full of promise and hope is there for us too in our most depressing and uncertain times.
The guy in the hole outside was relying on the mercy of the excavator operator today. I’m sure there were no doubts that he would receive a way out. We want to have that same thought process…no doubts that we’ll receive a way out when we find holes that seem too big for us.
When facing the holes, we need to look for the promises God gives us in the Bible and trust His mercy to help us out of them, even if we were the ones who dug them! That’s our ladder.
I challenge you to stop thinking of the monster making your hole deeper, and turn your attention to the ladder that will get you out!
