Advice when you're in a tunnel

From the Pulpit
By Rev. Gary Hardin

My grandmother lived in Cleveland, Tennessee. To get to her house, our family traveled through Chattanooga during the days before all the interstate highways were built. As we neared the Brainerd area of Chattanooga, we passed through a mile-long tunnel carved in a mountain. The minute or two we spent in the family car traveling through the tunnel always felt a little scary.

Sometimes, life feels like you are in a tunnel. You are going through a dark time, a hard time, a scary time, the winter months of faith -- serious illness, financial needs, challenges at work, job loss, a rebellious child, an inattentive spouse, overwhelming challenges. During these tunnel experiences we wonder if we can hang on and bear up under the pain.

Raymond Edmond wrote an article called “Advice When in the Tunnel”. He made comparisons about actual tunnels and life's tunnel -- the dark times of our lives. I want to add a few of my own insights to Edmond's. If you are going through a tunnel time in your life, I hope this advice helps you carry on.

Have you noticed, first, that tunnels are mostly on well-traveled, main roads? Rarely are expensive tunnels carved through remote, off-the-path areas. This fact assures us that problems are a normal part of living. No person gets a pass from pain, heartache, grief, or suffering. We ought not be surprised when adversity comes.

Second, tunnels are unpredictable. You won't find people standing alongside the road holding up signs to let you know that you are approaching a tunnel. Our tough times are unpredictable, too. You don't plan them, schedule them, or time them. And they usually come at the worst time, don't they?

Third, tunnels are always built in the mountains. You never find tunnels in valleys. The hard times of our lives are necessary if we are to grow, make progress, and develop the needed fortitude for facing life's challenges.

Fourth, tunnels always come to an end. When you are traveling through a tunnel, it's dark and bleak, somewhat intimidating. But as long as you keep moving, you always emerge out of the tunnel and into the light of day. Our problems don't last forever.

Last, tunnels are purposeful. If the state or county didn't spend the necessary money to build a tunnel you might have to travel miles out of the way. A tunnel shortens travel time. None of us look forward to the dark times, but these challenges mature us and build perseverance into our lives. Wouldn't you agree that you are a wiser, better person for having gone through some troublesome times?

So what can we do to make the tunnel times of our lives more bearable and purposeful? Keep moving. What's important when you are going through one of life's tunnels is that you not stall or become immobilized by worry, panic, or fear. Admittedly, times of adversity do tempt us to give up. Hardships discourage us and cause us to lose heart. But once we quit something the first time, it becomes easier to give up the next time. We never want quitting to become a habit of our lives.

Build a support system. Ask friends and family to help you shoulder your load. Enlist the support of your church family. Find strength from Sunday worship and helpful Bible verses. Seek ways to reduce the demands on your life. Sure, some responsibilities are important and necessary, but others aren't. Eliminate those.

Find something to be joyful about every day. If you are shouldering a heavy load right now, it's essential that you look for life's joys -- a call to your grandchild, a beautiful mountain view, a pot of soup from a friend, a funny TV commercial, an unexpected bargain at the store, a completed task at work.

Attack your problem with faith.. When I journey through difficult times in my life, I lean on a Bible verse, 1 Peter 5:7: “Cast all your anxiety on him (the Lord) because he cares for you.”

Gary Hardin is pastor of Enon Grove Baptist Church in Cedar Bluff. He and his wife, Linda, live in Centre. Comments can be sent to: garyhardin@tds.net.