Sticky Situations
-An exclusive excerpt from Allen’s new book-
It’s also not good to cover up our stuck places. Even with the best of intentions, doing so makes us—and our plans—unreliable, slippery, and unproductive. No matter how sincere we are, it’s like running toward our goals on black ice. Trust me, this is not the place we want to create from. God doesn’t want us to either.
For God is not the author of confusion but of peace. (1 Corinthians 14:33 NKJV)
When we continually ignore the warning signs that something is off, our stuck places eventually become our normal operating mode. Some embrace the resulting dysfunctional behavior as their identity. Like the person always ten minutes late or the temperamental artist who claims it’s just part of their creative brilliance. No, it’s not. This isn’t creative brilliance or how they’re wired. Their brilliance has been bent. The wiring is faulty. As is ours. The goal isn’t to cover it up but to break free from it.
I speak from experience.
Early in our marriage, my wife and I bought a nice leather couch. But over the years, through kids and dogs and life, the leather on the cushions wore thin and began to tear. But our bank account was also too thin to buy a new couch. We considered just flipping the cushions over, but they were sewn into the couch. We felt stuck.
So I did what any dude would do when facing impossible odds. I bought a roll of duct tape. Don’t judge me. It was a specific shade of brown duct tape that “kind of” matched the leather couch. At first, I just patched a few small holes. But as the cushions continued to deteriorate, there was less and less leather. Within a year, all three cushions were 100 percent duct tape. It felt like we were sitting on a giant roll of duct tape where our coach had been. I hoped it wasn’t noticeable, but come on, everyone noticed.
I tried to be resourceful but was covering up a problem rather than fixing it. We can’t duct tape our glitches. When we do, we operate from a place of shame and diminishment. And end up in sticky situations that keep us stuck.
But did you know there are also times we feel stuck…but actually aren’t?
(From The Creativity Glitch: How to Stop Being Stuck, Find Your Groove, & Create with God.Copyright © 2026 Allen Arnold.)
This reading was crafted to encourage your pursuit of story and creativity with God. Your donation makes this crowd-funded initiative possible. You can support it via PAYPAL (or by check to Allen Arnold at PO Box 62841, Colorado Springs, CO 80962).
Want More?
Order your copy of The Creativity Glitch today
