I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)
As I was heading out for my walk this morning, I felt a pull to go to the park I mentioned in my post Glimpses of God. I really didn’t want to go, for all the reasons I mentioned there, on top of the fact that it’s in woods so I knew the bugs would be all over.
I was right. I had sprayed with natural bug spray but they were even in my hair before I was halfway around the first lap!
I pulled out a bandana to cover my head and kept going. Lap 1. Lap 2. Lap 3…and I decided I didn’t want to walk any more. I was tired and my knee hurt and wasn’t 20 minutes enough, God?
I then thought of a book I’d loved as a kid, “The Horse and His Boy”, part of the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. In the book, the horse Bree is saved from captivity. There have many adventures as they flee to safety and as they are nearing the country where they can be safe he and his companions are exhausted. They don’t know if they can go on, when suddenly a lion (Aslan) begins chasing them. Bree doesn’t know how to push himself because he’s always been pushed by others.
“But one of the worst results of … being forced to do things is that when there is no one to force you any more you find you have almost lost the power of forcing yourself.”
C.S. Lewis, “The Horse and His Boy”
I thought of Bree and that quote as I neared the end of my third lap. I knew no-one would push me to go around a 4th time except myself. So I forced myself to keep walking even though I was tired and just wanted to go home.
After I finished that final lap, God gave me a present for my hard work. As I came to the pond near the end of the trail, the mother doe and her fawn were there! I watched them for a few minutes before thanking God and heading back to my car.
God sent me to that trail today to teach me two lessons. The first was humility – as I grumbled about the bugs, I had to acknowledge that I had to just deal with their presence, I couldn’t change them being there, only how I responded to them. They have just as much right to be in those woods as I did.
The biggest lesson I needed to learn was that I needed to find the strength to push through but I couldn’t do it alone – I needed to give that to God. And the reward was wonderful – not only a great walk but the sight of that beautiful deer and her fawn.
We all face difficult moments in our lives. I know how easy it is to give up in those times.
I love the imagery in “The Horse and His Boy” because Bree didn’t think he had the strength to continue, but God (personified as Aslan in the Narnia books) was there to show Bree that he COULD do it – that he was strong and brave enough to make that final push to safety.
God is there right by our sides when we face those difficult moments. It’s easy to give up and say you can’t go on. But when you give it all to God, you will find that anything and everything is possible.
Thank you, God, for the lessons you taught me this morning. Thank you for being by my side through every moment. Knowing you are there helps me know I can get through any difficulty that comes my way. Amen.