One day Jim was walking to school and didn’t see the giant hole in the sidewalk. He fell in.

It was way over his head and had steep, crumbly walls of wet dirt, and it took him a long time to climb out. He was afraid, down there in the bottom of that hole, and worried, and he was glad he got out. The rest of the day he was dirty and miserable.

The next day, Jim was walking to school. He fell in the same hole. He was aggravated and very upset, and after a long struggle he climbed out and went on to school. He was dirty and miserable. It was not a good day.

The third day Jim was walking to school, and fell into the same hole. He thought, “Well, at least I know where I am.” And he struggled to get out. But because he had struggled to get out two times before, he had crumbled away most of his footholds and hand holds, and it was much harder to get out. He was mad at himself when he finally got out. He went on to school, late, wet, dirty, miserable, and tired.

The fourth day, Jim was walking to school and he went around the edges of the giant hole. He didn’t fall in.

The fifth day, Jim went to school a different way.

How do you keep on being stupid time after time? I don’t know the answer to that, even I am guilty in many ways. Like the kid who whacks on the furniture with a drumstick until there are dents all in the nice wood of a beautiful piece, and then when asked, “What made you do that? Huh? What? What possessed you?” the kid answers, “I dunno.” And he’s not lying.

Repentance is not easy. But once you realize the pain it relieves, don’t you want to do it?