A Rope of Hope

Dr. Seuss tells us:

"I'm sorry to say so, 

but sadly, it's true

that Bang-ups

and Hang-ups

can happen to you.

You can get so confused

that you'll start in to race...

headed, I fear, to a most useless place.

The Waiting Place...

NO!

That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape..."

(Oh, the Places You'll Go!. 

Random House, New York, 1990, pp. 17, 23, 26)

Read below to find out how.

***

Ropes

I had been in that hole for a very long time-

In the dark and the damp, in the cold and the slime.

The shaft was above me; I saw it quite clear,

But there's no way I could reach it from here.

I could not remember the world way up there,

So I lost every hope and gave in to despair.

I knew nothing but darkness, the floor, and the wall.

Then from off in the distance I heard someone call;

“Get up! Get ready! There's nothing the matter!

Take rocks and take sticks and build up a fine ladder!”

This was a thought that had not crossed my mind,

But I started to stack all the stones I could find.

When I ran out of stones, then old sticks were my goal,

For some way or another I'd climb from that hole.

I soon had a ladder that stood very tall,

And I thought, “I'll soon leave this place once and for all!”

I climbed up the ladder, but soon had to stop,

for my ladder stopped short, some ten feet from the top.

I went back down the ladder and felt all around,

But there were no more boulders nor sticks to be found.

I sat down in the darkness and started to cry.

I'd done all that I could do and I gave my best try.

But in spite of my work, in this hole I must die.

And all I could do was to sit and think, “Why?”

Was my ladder too short? Was my hole much too deep?

Then from way up on high came a voice: “Do not weep.”

And then faith, hope, and love entered into my chest.

As the voice calmly told me that I'd done my best.

He said, “ You have worked very hard, and your labor's been rough,

But the ladder you've built is at last tall enough.

So do not despair; there is reason to hope,

just climb up on your ladder; I'll throw down my rope.”

I climbed up my ladder, then climbed up the cord.

When I got to the top of it there stood the Lord.

I'd never been happier; my struggle was done.

I blinked in the brightness that came from the Son.

I fell to the ground as His feet I did kiss.

I cried, “Lord, can I ever repay Thee for this?”

He looked all about. There were holes in the ground,

They, and people inside, were seen all around.

There were thousands of holes that were damp, dark, and deep.

Then the Lord looked at me and He said, “feed my sheep,”

And He went on His way to save other lost souls, 

So I got right to work, calling down to the holes,

“Get up! Get ready! There's nothing the matter!

Take rocks and take sticks and build up a fine ladder!”

It was now my calling to spread the good word,

the most glorious message that man ever heard:

That there is one who is coming to save one and all,

And we need to be ready when He gives the call.

He'll put us all out of the holes that we're in

And save all our souls from the cold death and from sin.

So do not lose faith; there is reason to hope:

Just climb up your ladder; He'll throw down His rope.

-Unknown Author

Received from Hermanas Hunter & Poneveitongo 
Ventura, CA Mission

***

I recently shared this poem with the Missionaries in my area. After they read it, one of the Elders returned with a rope from his coat pocket! He said, “I've been carrying this around for a few weeks, practicing the 'Lifesaver' knot, and I didn't know why.”