Sometimes something finds you exactly when you need it.
My husband sent me a video of a woman reading a poem on Facebook, and I wasn’t expecting much when I clicked on it. But by the time I was done watching, I was in tears. Not because it was sad—but because it felt true in a way that’s hard to explain.
It put words to something I think a lot of us feel but don’t always know how to say. That sense of being stuck… of trying your best and still falling short… of wondering if you’ll ever make it out.
And yet, somehow, it also carries hope.
To me, it’s about life feeling like an endless hole sometimes. You try, you push, you build, you climb—and still, it’s not enough. It feels hopeless. But something inside you says, keep going anyway.
And then… when you’ve done everything you can… you’re not left alone.
That’s what makes this poem so powerful.
Holes
by Scott Lewis and Elders from his mission
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 could see it quite clear,
But there’s no way I ever could reach it from here.
Nor could I remember the world way up there.
So I lost all my hope and gave in to despair.
I knew nothing but darkness, the floor, and the walls,
Then off in the distance I heard someone call:“Get up! Get ready! There’s nothing the matter.
Take rocks and old sticks and build up a fine ladder.”This had never occurred to me — 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 one way or another I’d get out of that hole.
So I soon had a ladder that was sturdy and tall
And I thought, “I’ll soon leave this place once and for all.”
I climbed up my ladder. It was no easy chore,
For from lifting those boulders, my shoulders were sore.
I climbed on up the ladder, but soon had to stop,
For my ladder stopped short– some ten feet from the top.I climbed back down my ladder and started to cry.
I’d done all I could do. I gave my best try,
And 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? Or my hole much too deep
Then from way upon high came a voice, “Do not weep.”
And then faith, hope, and love entered into my chest
As the voice said to me that I’d done my best.He said, “You’ve worked very hard, and your labor’s been rough,
But the ladder you’ve built is at last tall enough.
Do not despair. You have reason to hope.
Just climb up your ladder; I’ll throw down my rope.”
I climbed up the ladder, then climbed up the cord.
When I got to the top, there stood the Lord.
I couldn’t be happier; my struggle was done.
I blinked in the brightness that came from the Son.I fell to the ground, His feet did I kiss.
I cried, “What can I do to repay thee for this?”
Then He looked all about Him. There were holes in the ground.
They had people inside and were seen all around.
There were thousands of holes that were damp, dark, and deep.
The Lord turned to me and He said, “Feed my sheep.”Then He went on His way to help other lost souls,
And I got right to work, calling down to the holes:“Get up! Get ready! There’s nothing the matter.
Take rocks and old sticks and build up a fine ladder.”It now was my turn to spread the good word.
The most glorious message that man ever heard.
That there’s One who is willing to save one and all
And we’ve got to be ready when He gives the call.
He’ll pull us all out of the hole that we’re in
And save all our souls from death and from sin.
So do not lose faith; there is reason to hope.
Just build up your ladder; He’ll throw down His rope.
What stayed with me most about this poem is that it doesn’t pretend the climb is easy.
You do have to build the ladder. You do have to try. You do get tired and discouraged and feel like you’ve failed. And sometimes you don’t want to go on.
But your effort isn’t wasted—even when it feels like it is.
Because when you’ve done everything you can… when you’ve reached as high as you’re able… that’s when He meets you the rest of the way.
You were never meant to do it alone.
And maybe the most powerful part of all? It doesn’t end when you climb out.
There are still holes everywhere. There are still people stuck in that same darkness. And suddenly, you realize—you’re not just the one being saved anymore.
You’re part of the rescue.
That’s the part that hit me the hardest.
Because sometimes all someone needs… is a voice calling down into the dark, saying:
“Get up. Try again. There’s a way out.”