Stuck

Every time my family drove by the above rock formation, I vowed that I would climb it someday.

That day came when I was a senior in High School. My friend Bob and I were on a short road trip and decided to stop and see if we could climb our way to the top. We picked our way up on the backside, using crevices and saplings growing out of barely visible cracks. When we finally made it to the top, we were exuberant. But it was Spring and the sun was getting low, making it cooler. So then it was time to climb back down.

That’s where we had problems. We couldn’t remember where we climbed up, and not being able to see over the ledge, we were stuck. As the sun was dropping over the horizon, we started to panic. I remember frantically waving at cars on the interstate below, but those who saw us just waved back. The same thing happened when a small Cessna flew overhead. We waved and shouted…he just rocked his wings to say, “Hello.” 

Getting up is easy. Getting back down isn’t.

And that’s the way of habits and addictions. It’s easy to get the high. It just takes a few drinks or a couple of puffs to feel the buzz. A click or two will let you see more naked women than ancient kings saw in their lifetime.

Going up is the easy part. But what about when you realize that you can’t live up there? The sun starts to set, and you're getting cold. The alcohol is hurting your career. The porn is wrecking your marriage. The highs are no longer new and exciting…but now you are stuck.

There are some highs that none of us ought ever pursue because they end in disaster.

Eventually, Bob and I figured it out. We took our shirts off and tied them together to make a rope. I let Bob down over the ledge until he could find a foot hold. Then he guided me to an easier spot, and we slowly but surely made it down.

But I read a few months later of a guy who died trying to get down. And that’s how many of these “highs” end up.

That addiction, or that nasty habit, perhaps it's angry outbursts. It could be a substance. Maybe its negativity or gossip. Easy to do, hard to reverse.

Get help. Open up to your Campus Pastor. Let us help you get to a counselor. Because the sun is setting and the temperature is cooling off. If you wait much longer, it could be too late.

“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).