Stuck on the Roof

I love Fall. There are many things about it that make me enjoy the season. Of course the beauty of the trees changing colors, pumpkins and candy at Halloween, and cooler temps are all wonderful things about Fall. However, there are few on this planet that actually look forward to raking leaves. Of course, if you ignore the leaves, your grass dies and your neighbors aren't happy on windy days. I will say that my wonderful wife does the majority of the raking, or has so far. I think it's because I do the mowing during the summer and she is OCD and can't handle the "messiness" of the yard. :) I love her.

Anyway, today my job was to clean out the gutters... Needless to say, I was not excited about it, but, again, it had to be done. I borrowed a ladder from a friend because it was an extension ladder that would let me climb right up onto the roof. I should preface the rest of this by saying I'm not a huge fan of heights. Our house is no mansion, but it's higher than a chair. I got up the ladder and on the roof with little issues. I cleaned out the gutters, though, that was no party either.

Then...I had to get down. If you've ever climbed a ladder and dismounted it, you know that the challenge is mounting again. I could not do it. I was scared to death of...death...by falling off the roof. I tried a couple maneuvers and Sonia tried to help coach me, but to no avail. I was stuck. It was a good 5-10 minutes before I finally got it figured out, mustered up some courage and got down (no, I'm not blogging from the roof).

As I reflect on it now, it made me think about how I approach certain situations. I feel like I'm often stuck on the roof. Do you know that feeling when you just know the right thing to do, and yet you can't move on it? I can't tell you how many people I could have talked to about Christ's love for them. I can't tell you how many lies I could have avoided. I can't tell you how many people I've let walk away when I knew they just needed someone to talk to.

Get off the roof and grab ahold of that ladder. I can tell you it's a good feeling when you get down and gravity is no longer your worst enemy. What's stopping you?


In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don't do it, that, for you, is evil. ~ James 4:17 (The Message)