The Slippery Slope 

By Vickie G. Paver

Mid-morning I prepared for my winter walk. I dressed warmly and put on my hiking boots. My boots have lots of tread and this tread digs into the snow and ice. As I walked down the driveway and onto the road I could feel my boots digging in. Just as I neared our neighbor's mailbox, I slipped! I did a little tap dance and was able to stay upright instead of landing on the road with a thud. I said a little “thank you, Lord!”

Debating whether to or not to continue my walk---I decided not to be quite so chicken hearted about it and go on. I had a good reason for debating. I've been dealing with severe back problems and did not want to set off another scenario of spasms and pain.

When I look down the road I can see that it inclines slightly. This makes walking a little more difficult. It is the slippery slope of my routine walk. After my near accident, I was a little more cautious in looking out for slippery spots on the slippery slope. I chuckled to myself at the vision that flashed in my mind---one of me lying there calling, "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up," like the lady in the ad on television. The only problem was that I didn't have a 911 beeper!

The rest of my walk was uneventful and pretty much on level walkways. However, it was still slippery in spots and I had to tread carefully so I wouldn't find myself flat on my back looking up at the sky.

By the time my walk was almost finished, I was thinking about the Christian life and how many times it seems like we are on a slippery slope. Different circumstance can make a person feel this way. Some of you may be dealing with an onslaught of health problems, handling arthritis, diabetes, kidney problems, and maybe even more. Managing several health problems or even one health problem, may hinder you from doing those things that you once did with ease. You now feel helpless and feel like you are slipping on the slippery slope. You are trying to stay upright in all that is going on.

Others of you may be dealing with losing your job because the company is downsizing or going out of business. Perhaps you are having difficulties making ends meet. Mankind has always been faced with a multitude of problems. It is at these times that we need to remember that we don't tread the slippery slopes alone and that everything is in God's control. Even in the worst of circumstances, where we have tapped danced to stay upright, but STILL find ourselves flat on our backs looking up, we need to remember that God is available to us. He takes those 911 calls. When we feel broken and discouraged, He is available. He hears our call, "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up." He knows our frames - that we are dust.

One verse that has impacted my life, especially in tough circumstances, is found in the Psalms. It expresses such tender mercies. Each time I read it I am reminded I don't have to tap dance to stay upright and that He alone holds me up. Psalms 103:13,14, "As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust." And even when I fall, He is there to pick me up! So if you are tap dancing to stay upright or you have fallen flat on your back or even flat on your face, put in the call. God is waiting to help you.

Psalms 73: 26, "My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Psalms 31: 24 "Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the Lord."