This mud puddle is much more crowded than I realized when I first got stuck.

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

What a beautiful weekend we had. I spent time in my canoe, being on the water always makes me happy. I am sure I will talk about that a lot this summer.

I had a fellow mud trudger talk to me. He was doing ok, but he had a friend who is currently stuck in the mud and cannot seem to find the energy to get unstuck and start the journey to dry ground. 

He said that his friend is now struggling with his faith, which is understandable and tends to happen to mud walkers. I don't know if it is the stickiness of it, or the smell, or the weight of the mud on one's boots, maybe it is the sheer energy that is exerted, possibly it is all this combined that causes people to start questioning things; faith being one of them. 

I must admit it can be hard to see God in the mud. It is much easier to see God in the puffy clouds of a beautiful blue sky day. But if God is in the puffy clouds of a beautiful blue sky day, then He is also in the mud on an overcast rainy day.

Now I just need to be clear here; God did not make the clouds of a beautiful blue sky day just we can say, oh god what a wonderful God you are; this is important, because if God made the puffy clouds of a beautiful blue sky day, just so we would say how wonderful God is, then God also made the mud, just so we would get stuck and He would pull us out just so we could say how wonderful He is for saving us. 

That would be a god of manipulation, and a manipulative god is a pretty small god. 

I don't know about you, but I need a great big God. A god big enough, and loving enough, to walk beside me and enjoy the puffy clouds of a beautiful blue sky day; and to lean on as I trudge through the mud.

The God I know walks with me, and doesn't trap me just to teach me about Him. 

Wow, that was a talking attack!

I said all this because it can be hard to see God in the mud. Often times people, when they can't see God, start to wonder if He is even there. 

I get it, I have been there myself. 

That is why it is important for people who are stuck or trudging through the mud to have other mud trudgers come alongside them. they have been there themselves. 

It is also important to note that it is important to not listen to fancy shoe people when they give their advice. It isn't that they are bad people, no they can be good people and most likely are, they just don't know.

I wouldn't go to a mechanic if I need a root canal, nor would I go to a dentist if my car broke down to have a dentist fix my car.

So I tend to not take the advice of a fancy shoe person when it comes to mud trudging. 

Back to my friend.

He has a friend who is stuck in the mud and is questioning his faith. 

As I said, this is normal, at least to me. 

He told his friend that he needs to talk with me and that I might be able to help.

I don't know if I can help. I will listen, see what his needs are, and try. 

The thing that I have noticed since I started talking about walking in the mud is how many people are walking with me. This mud puddle is much more crowded than I realized when I first got stuck.

I know the saying, "Misery loves company." That is not what I am getting at. It can be hard to walk in the mud, having all these people that are being very brave, and coming forward saying, "Hey I am in the mud too!" is breaking the shame cycle of silence!

I will talk more about that as time goes by too.

Thanks for being there for me.

Blessings,

Roger