Didn’t go as planned.

Hey!  It was just a small outing in between rainy days.  The trail, looked inviting even though there was a “small amount” of mud and slush on the trail.  Funny, but at the time the mud holes only looked a few inches deep with muddy water.  Later, I would realize that there was two more feet of gooky, slimy, mud underneath those couple inches of water.

Oh boy, Now I’ve got to call Staci.  I guess I’ll have to talk her into helping me pull her ATV out with the tractor.  That’s not going to be fun.  It wouldn’t be fun for you either.  First you have to admit to yourself you made a mistake.  That’s hard enough!  But then you’ve got to admit to others (especially the wife) that your decision making skills have been reduced to the abilities of a drunk cowboy. (You may not remember him, This cowboy had been drinking and ran nude through the cactus patch.  As he was being treated at the ER for his injuries, the police asked him why he did this.  He responded, “It seemed like a good idea at the time”.

I’ve got a better idea!  I’ll call my huntin’ buddy.  He brought his 4 wheeler right on over and pulled me out.  That’s what friends are for.  He didn’t laugh at my predicament, well not for too long.  He didn’t make me feel stupid.  Well, he did throw a few zingers about my inferior brand 4 wheeler.  But he also reminded me of when I had pulled him out of a wet field about a year ago.  Hey, I had forgotten about that.  Well, that’s what friends are for.

He pulls me free of the mud.  We both go our own ways.  My way takes me back to the house.   Staci’s 4 wheeler is covered with crappy smelling mud.  So am I.  I’ll just have to go ahead and confess to her of my foolishness and promise to clean up, both me and the 4 wheeler.  I’m dreading the interrogation.  I’m definitely not looking forward to whatever her response will be.  Will I feel stupid?  She may just laugh at me.  Could be a scolding.   Probably though, she’ll just roll her eyes like all the times before.

I tell her of the whole adventure.  Actually, the mud hole has grown as I tell the story.  The version she hears is that the mud hole was over 8 ft deep.  I almost drownded, (that’s worse than drowning), not from my bad decision making, but from saving her ATV from total destruction.  She should feel lucky to be married to me.   That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Her response?   She gave me this reply.  “Yea, yea, whatever.  You probably got stuck riding the trail down at the mud hole. The one that only looks a few inches deep.”  Then she remarked, “remember that time I stuck your lawnmower in the mud?”

Why I had forgotten about that!  Now we’re even I guess.  No, I think what she made me realize is that all of us make dumb decisions.  We’re dumb as that drunk cowboy on occasion.  But we are all in this together.  In that brief moment, she somehow lifted my spirits.That’s what friends are for.

Galatians 6 New International Version (NIV) ² Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.  We must all remember that on our spiritual journey we are there to help one another.  It may be to pull your friend out of a bog.  It may be to lift someone’s spirit.  True friends will pick and joke with each other about our situations.  But deep down there is that Christian Love.  No matter my inadequate decision making, a fellow Christian is there to carry the load.  That’s what friends are for.  Be that friend!!

(Time out)  I must take this time to tell the whole world how lucky of a man I am.  Why?  Because I am married to my best friend.  Through good and bad, paved paths and mud, Staci has been beside me.  I wanted to share a picture of her that brings back memories.  Why this picture?  Well, that’s what friends are for 😉

Staci Bogged down My Mower!!!