I Am Stuck in the Mud and Need Help to Get Out: Lord Please Help Me!

By Jewel Harper MPA M.DIV

“I am stuck in the mud and need help to get out.” Represent God as holding us up through life problems and moving us along on our journey through life. The Lord while I was in the mud was with me and he carried my burdens, pain, past hurts, and disappointments upon Himself. Meaning the weight, I felt internally is from the devastating blows of life experiences. The whole point of being on a journey and getting struck in the mud is learning to love yourself with your imperfections because God does Love us.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664172098

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Copyright © 2021 by Jewel Harper MPA, M.DIV.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 05/20/2021

Xlibris

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CONTENTS

Garnet

Pearl and Her Siblings

Pearl

Garnet

Topaz

Beryl

Pearl

Garnet

Pearl

Garnet

Pearl

Garnet and Pearl

I Am Stuck in the Mud and Need Help to Get Out represents God holding us up through life problems and moving us along on our journey through life. It is best to avoid becoming stuck. Becoming liberated may require different techniques.

Being stuck in the mud while walking slowly with heavy steps had strained me with exhaustion through a mucky area of my life. I could feel the ground tugging at my feet with each step. Eventually, the mud causes me to have a selfish desire for freedom from the bondage of being stuck, and I did not let go. With my next step, I was pulled back; I fell to the ground, which then took my second foot. Slipping in mud slowly caused me to reflect on times. I was lacking the skill, means, and opportunity to do something to get out of my situations, struggling with addictions, coronaviruses, social injustices, and other health issues, and relationship and family conflict. These pressures continue to have me stuck. I heard an inner voice saying, Walk on the balls of your feet; it doesn’t stick as much! Two of my friends while passing called over to me. I tried walking in place using the technique. Walking on the balls of my feet keeps my heels from planting in the mud, thereby preventing suction from forming between the mud and the bottom of my boots. As I turned and tried to lift my feet, it felt uncomfortable to lift, so I decided to just stay right where I was.

While exploring farther into that same mud field, I found that if I stopped or slowed down, I will sink. With a new energy from this discovery, I came up with the don’t-slow-down method. It was simple and worked, so I did not question it. If I stopped, I would sink, but not to the point of becoming stuck. Proper technique can be full of activity or vitality and be physically or mentally demanding, which may result in a misstep. In an unfortunate circumstance, this can mean getting stuck even farther, so I looked for some solutions.

While I was stuck in the mud, I thought to myself that it might be possible to lift my heel enough to break the suction between the bottom of my boot and the mud. This made it much easier to remove the rest of my foot. I made a pull when my foot became too stuck for the lift-my-heel strategy. I knew I might need to employ the toe-pull technique. This involves reaching my hand down into the mud, finding the toe of my boot, and pulling my toe high enough to allow air under my foot. This will break the seal and allow me to pull the rest of my foot out. The repeatedly yanking of my foot until it comes out of the mud is possible but unwise in deep mud, unless you look for creative ways to burn calories. It can consume large amounts of energy and cause my other foot to become more stuck.

My life experiences through the years have become full of lessons from being stuck in the mud and learning to get unstuck and continuing with my life experiences. As a person working on transforming to a changed person, each day becomes a part of my walk in faith. I cannot separate my faith and life without denying one or the other. But faith and life interfaces within me as a part of my growth. I can learn about spirituality while transforming myself. I continuously learn about the word of God through the Bible and in allowing him to transform my life. God’s purpose and plan for my life comes through studying his word and allowing myself to surrender to his will and allowing change to occur. Through him, he has allowed me to be mentored by others and to take directions from leaders that he has placed in my life to learn. Although I am not a perfect person but an ordinary person who has surrendered and allowed God to direct my path, he has forgiven me for my imperfections from my past. He has allowed me in his vast fields as a laborer.

I welcome the opportunity to write a new book entitled I Am Stuck in the Mud and Need Help to Get Out. This new book comes at a time where there is a need in spiritual development and change for our country. With the coronavirus, tornadoes, fires, hurricanes, social injustices, and massive shootings, this new book is