Pits

It's retreat season!  

In anticipation for the Graduate Passion Retreat (less than 2 weeks away), our priest has been giving us his preliminary thoughts on the topic.  As announced, the topic of the upcoming retreat is called "Getting Out of the Pit"; and it's about...well…pits.  Now, in the past, whenever I'd attend a retreat, I would put myself in the shoes of: "I have this problem, and this retreat is going to show me how to fix it."  And honestly, that strategy hasn't failed me.  But, this time is a little different.

I used to be in a pit.  And it took a while for me to get out.  But it is crucial for me to remember that I'm not still in that pit.  Because if I forget that, and try to fit into the demographic of current-pit-dwellers for the sake of this retreat, I am going to screw myself up.  Why?  Why is that such a big deal?  Because it's all about perspective.

By the grace of God, He helped me to overcome something huge.  He didn't solve my problem, He didn't give me what I wanted…He just got me out of the pit.  He got me out of the self-pity, the depression, the anger, the bitterness, resentment, heartache, hopelessness.  He delivered me from myself, and He gave me Himself.  He gave me hope in Him.  And if I go to this retreat and think "yeah, I hear ya, boy am I in a pit!"…then I will have undone all the diligent and progressive work of God.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that half of being in a pit is believing you're in a pit.  Some pits are obvious and unavoidable, I know that.  But sometimes, God has already begun to help you out, but all you can see is dirt.  Sometimes God is hard at work, even in the most subtle way, but we're still complaining of our helplessness.  You can't get out of a pit if you still believe you're in it.  Ha, I almost want to say "You can take the person out of the pit, but you can't take the pit out of the person."  If you're still holding on to your pit (and if you're Egyptian, this one's for you), then you'll always be in your pit.

Like our priest details in his blog, there are steps to help you get out of your pit.  But I personally believe that a good chunk rests in your perspective.  Denial = no.  Don't deny your pit.  But don't drag yourself through the dirt, either.