Thoughtful Thursday:

The Rain, The Rooster, and The Rescuer

When I was just a little girl, we lived in the flood plain in Middlesboro, Kentucky. One of my earliest memories was when we had been getting spring rains for several days, and Yellow Creek was swelling over its banks. My family was sound asleep when we were awakened by an incessant pounding on our front door. I remember hearing my daddy say, “Who in the world could that be? It’s two o’clock in the morning!” When Daddy opened the door, we saw that it was Mr. Jones, who lived on the hill above us.

“Matt,” he said, “ You’d better get your family out of here! This water is rising fast, and it’s bound to get in your house real soon!” We could hear the urgency in his voice, as we all scrambled around to get dressed, and grab whatever possession that we deemed most valuable at that time. Finally, my daddy reached down and lifted me up, along with my teddy bear clutched tightly in my hands. He  ran to the car, and off we went, to my sister’s house, which was safely perched on high ground in Middlesboro.

About a day and a half later, the rain stopped, the water receded, and we headed back to our own house, not really knowing what to expect. We turned up the dirt road which led to the row of houses where we lived. The dirt had turned to mud, and by the time we reached home, we could see that our entire front yard was nothing but a thick bowl of muddy gravy. We knew that the inside of our house would be similar.

As we climbed out of the car, we heard a loud squawking noise. About halfway across the yard, was a rooster, whose chicken feet had gotten stuck in the thick goopy mud. “Richard!” my dad said to my brother, “Go down yonder and help that rooster get loose!” So, off goes my brother, high-stepping through the mud to rescue the poor, pitiful rooster. When he got there, instead of being grateful and compliant, the rooster began to flog my brother about the head and face. It was a sight to behold! Somehow, the rooster got loose and flew away. Richard came high-stepping back toward the house, and just as he reached the porch, he said, “Ah, man! Where’s my shoe?”

As this memory came flooding back, I was reminded of a Bible verse in the book of Psalms.

“He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire. He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”   Psalm 40:2  NIV

Some of us have had many “pits” in our life…a time when we were in despair, a time when things seemed hopeless, and we felt stuck, and didn’t know what to do. Often, we can look back on these times, and realize that Jesus really did carry us through, and lift us out, even when some of us tried to “flog” Him. Thank you, Jesus, for lifting me out of the pits in my life!

Whether you have found yourself in a pit from your past, or you are presently stuck in a pit, or there may be one on the horizon…hold on to Jesus, and He will set your feet on a rock, and give you a firm place to stand.