EVERYDAY ADVENTURES

The Shopping Mall of Doom

When I was a kid, I used to chew bubble gum that came wrapped in a comic strip. Every once in a while, below the comic, it also had a message that said, “Help! I’m being held prisoner in a bubble gum factory!”

I used to think that was a funny gag until the night I got locked in the mall. Then I realized people really do get stuck in strange places. That poor bubble gum guy is probably still there to this day. 

Now, don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of places I wouldn’t mind getting locked inside for a night: a bookstore, an ice cream shop or any place that sells tools. All of those options would be a party. 

Now, don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of places I wouldn’t mind getting locked inside for a night: a bookstore, an ice cream shop or any place that sells tools. All of those options would be a party. 

But trapped in a shopping mall? That sounds like the premise for a horror movie.

My wife knows I hate shopping so much she usually just does it for me. She gives me clothes at Christmas and then randomly throughout the year, once my holiday threads start looking shabby. Unfortunately, a couple of years ago, I got stuck. Oh boy, did I get stuck.

I was speaking at an event at a friend’s church and realized it had been a while since the clothes fairy had visited. I didn’t have time to order anything online, and my wife was too busy to bail me out. 

I was speaking at an event at a friend’s church and realized it had been a while since the clothes fairy had visited. I didn’t have time to order anything online, and my wife was too busy to bail me out. 

I had no choice. I had to make a last-minute run to the mall. 

Because of my aversion to shopping, I had no idea what I was doing. I was like a child lost in the forest. Eventually I wandered into a store, grabbed a bunch of clothes off a rack and went to try them on. By the time I came out of the fitting room, the place was deserted.

One of the young ladies working that night was already locking up, and the cashier looked really annoyed I was still there. Apparently, malls close a lot earlier than I remembered.

One of the young ladies working that night was already locking up, and the cashier looked really annoyed I was still there. Apparently, malls close a lot earlier than I remembered.

However, once I left with my bag of clothes, my troubles were just beginning. I headed toward the exit where I’d parked, but when I got to the door, it was locked. 

It was just a small side door, so I figured they must be funneling people out through the main entrances. I doubled back and made a beeline for the bank of doors at the front of the mall. 

Also locked.

The doors to the big department store on the end? Locked as well. 

C’mon, I thought, they couldn’t ALL be locked. Surely, I must be missing something. I just needed to find someone to ask.

C’mon, I thought, they couldn’t ALL be locked. Surely, I must be missing something. I just needed to find someone to ask.

The place was a ghost town, but I finally found a couple of employees hanging out at a kiosk, making eyes at each other. It felt like I was interrupting a date.

“Excuse me,” I said. “How do I get out of here?”

Kiosk Girl looked at me matter-of-factly. “The mall’s closed. The doors are all locked.”

“Well, I’m not staying here all night,” I said. “How do you get out?”

“We use the employee exit. Sorry.”

I could tell this wasn’t getting me anywhere, so I left Romeo and Juliet and went off searching for hope. Just around the corner, I found it. 

I ran into a custodian, my new best friend in the world. He pointed me to a door I could have easily missed because it was tucked out of the way. It dumped me into a long, shadowy corridor. Then, at the end, freedom! 

I crashed through the double doors, bursting into the starry parking lot, never so happy to see the night sky. I ran to my car and didn’t look back, and that, my friends, is the last time I went to a shopping mall after dark.

I learned a valuable lesson that night. There are all kinds of unexpected ways we might find ourselves stuck in life, and in those moments, which voices you listen to will determine whether or not you stay there.

I learned a valuable lesson that night. There are all kinds of unexpected ways we might find ourselves stuck in life, and in those moments, which voices you listen to will determine whether or not you stay there.

As frustrating as it was getting trapped in the mall, there are much worse things that can keep us stuck. Stuck in fear. Stuck in shame. Stuck in regret. Stuck in depression. Stuck in the good old days. Stuck in the bad old days. Stuck repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Stuck. Stuck. Stuck.

When we find ourselves stuck, we may hear voices like Kiosk Girl, who will tell us there’s no way out. You’ll never change. Your life will never change. It is what it is.

When we find ourselves stuck, we may hear voices like Kiosk Girl, who will tell us there’s no way out. You’ll never change. Your life will never change. It is what it is.

But there’s another voice calling to us in our stuckness. It’s the voice of Jesus. 

About 2,000 years ago, he looked pretty stuck: murdered on a cross, buried in a tomb and trapped behind a stone. That’s about as stuck as you get. 

Until he wasn’t. The stone was rolled away. The tomb was empty. Jesus was alive. Now, no one has to be stuck.

I should know. I used to be stuck in a whole bunch of ways, like really stuck. But, by the grace of God, now I’m not. The only way I can explain it is that I made a new friend, and he showed me the way out, and he can do the same for you.  •