With my Ipod's help - worship music flooded my ears and heart - reminding me that it is through Christ that I receive restoration and joy admist challenging times. Marriages that are falling apart, the death of a child, a woman making the toughest decision of her life, a friend being confronted with her past hurts, relationships just not being the same, and hopes being crushed....are only just a few things that I have been carrying around with me.
I came to a wall... a rock wall...
"For by You I can run upon a troop; And by my God I can leap over a wall." Ps 18:29
I have always loved this verse since it reminds me of the challenges we face in life and it is only God that can help us scale and conquer those challenges. I thought about my walls that I am facing...walls of restlessness, walls of disappointment, walls of fear, walls apathy, walls of regret, and walls of loss. I can't say I have torn down those walls quite yet, because I think it will take some time to deal with the foundation of those walls, but I was comforted by that verse and many others knowing that God has the dynamite to blow them up and put together the pieces in order to build a strong tower for me to stand on.
As my journey continued, I walked along side the road near my house and was I soon captured by pathway to the creek. The road seemed a little boring and at times dangerous - so I thought I would take the path back to my house....I created for myself a little hardship - to say the least. The "path" was not really a pathway - just an area that has not grown in yet from the winter. I soon realized that the area is probably not walkable during the spring and summer becuase of all the brush - but I thought I would just keep going.
Yep...not much of a good trail -huh? I am sure that I looked a little funny trying to duck under brush and despartely trying to not get my eye poked out by a wondering stick! But I kept going. I did realize that it was very hard for me to focus on my worship music at that point - and I just wanted to get over that creek and go home! I thought there would a good place to cross over but that placed was getting hard to find! Eventually I found a spot with some rocks that looked steady and a tree branch and root that was within reach. I knew once I stepped on the rock I was committed. As I stepped on the branch - testing it first of course - with both feet, my then dry shoes became immersed in water as the root broke and I found myself in shin deep of water! I kinda got stuck on that branch and I had to use my former gymnastics moves to get myself out from under the tree without falling back into the water! However - I did reach the other side!
As I walked back to my house to get some dry clothes on - I realized that I would have been back to my house about 10 minutes earlier had I just stayed on the road! The Lord also caught my attention by reminding me how often we take the more difficult way sometimes by the choices we make in life. That even though He will see us through the other side - sometimes with a story to tell - there are also consequences that we face as a result of our choices. I just pray I can make the best decisions to bring Glory to Him as I walk this journey!
