Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Slogging through


Sometimes life feels like a muddy field.

Here in Oregon, many families have a great tradition of driving by the Christmas tree lots and heading out to one of the many Christmas tree farms to cut their own tree for the holidays. Often, the grounds are wet with weeks of November rains and the mud is thick. It grabs hold of your old tennis shoes, or rubber boots, whatever you've suited yourself up with for the battle. Sometimes you win, you find the spots that have grass or straw covering them and that little bit of vegetation breaks the pull of the mud. Other times, you mis-step or you are so busy looking for the perfect tree, your foot falls just right in a soupy, sticky spot that seems to pull at your foot with a force you wouldn't expect.

No - I'm not ready to talk about Christmas yet. I'm talking about mud. The sloppy, sticky, stuff of life we need to walk through to get the prize. That's where I am right now. Looking for that beautiful, perfect, lovely piece of something but getting stuck in the mud in the process.

It's been a tough couple of weeks. My mind is consumed with preparing, checking, searching, researching, tending, running, sitting, talking, listening, fixing, driving, doing. What I'd really like to do is look up from the mud and see that gloriously perfect life that I'm working so hard for be waiting for me with golden adornment and tropical vacation in hand.

I'd really like to rest. But for now, I'll keep on. Slogging. Through the mud. Because I know the perfect tree is just over the next hill. Really. It will be.

Won't it?

11 comments:

Deb R said...

Yes, it will.
{{{Kim}}}

Darlene said...

You just need a hot bath with some candles, a cup of tea and a friend...(no no no not in the tub with you....later to talk to)

silly
xoxoxox darlene

che said...

mud is mud pie in disguise .
mud is play do to the unwise
mud is for slinging to one's foe
but really mud is plain mud to average joe !

Deirdre said...

Sooo...after all the mud-slogging there's a tropical vacation? I definitely want that.

Amber said...

Yes! yes yes!

Besides, mud is good for your skin. See? Always an upside.

:)

Cheryl said...

I hear you sister! Better slogging than slinging though! ;)

The great thing about you Kim is that you are an encouragement to others who are slogging even when you are feeling the grip of the mud yourself! Thank you!!

Jennifer said...

Amen, sister!

Writer Bug said...

Nice post. We've all been in the mud, and I hope for you that the perfect tree comes very soon!

Amber said...

where you at?

Connections said...

It did feel like slogging through mud didn't it? I'm glad I have you to slog through with! (how's that for a poorly constructed sentence?)

Love you friend,
Leslie

paris parfait said...

Mais oui, c'est vrai, mon ami! xo