Saturday afternoon. We had just gotten
done eating lunch after a morning of prayer. All of us girls came
back to our cottage to clean because, well, when 9 girls live in a
small space, things tend to get a little cluttered. So, I am
organizing my little corner, and I have this persistent thought.
Go for a walk.
It is COLD out.
Really?
Go for a walk.
It is pouring down
rain. Seriously?
GO FOR A WALK.
Ok. Fine. I will go. But it will be short. And I will NOT enjoy it.
So, I put all three of my jackets on, grabbed my ipod, and headed out
the door. I walked down the street until it turned into a dirt road.
I walked down that dirt road until it ran into the highway, then I
turned around and started walking back.
At this point, I hadn’t gained anything from my walk unless you count
my muddy shoes and one soaking wet pair of pants. I couldn’t feel my
toes, and I was ready to go back to my nice, dry cottage.
Nope.
I am walking back the way I came, and to the right I see the tiniest
path. I don’t even think it was as wide as my
shoe. And up come the persistent thoughts again.
Go
down there. Walk that way. You need to walk on this path for a while.
Well,
I am already soaked…what the heck, I might as well check out the
path.
So,
I turned and walked that way for a while. More mud, accompanied by
lots of branches. I started thinking about how stupid this was, me
walking through the middle of the forest in the pouring rain. I was
about to turn around.
There
is something I want you to see.
This thought, it came with a sense of urgency, so much
so that I started running. The branches, the mud, they were still
there. The song “Hello World� by Lady Antebellum started playing
on my Ipod. My little path went on an incline, and at the top of the
hill, it opened up into a field. As I reached the top, through my ear
buds I hear:
All the empty disappears,
I remember why I’m here.
To surrender and believe,
I fall down on my knees.
Hello World.
The view at the top took my breath away (…or maybe
that was the running, I don’t know). The hills are covered with
trees. It almost looks like fire on the hillside, the colors of the
leaves. Railroad tracks cut across the middle of several of the
hills. Little Moldavian houses fill the valley. And I can see it all.
Hello World.
I closed my eyes and thanked God for bringing me to this
place. He will guide my steps so that I can walk into greater
revelation of His character and His love.
Sometimes, God has to lead us through the mud to get to
the beauty, but when we look back, it’s worth it every single time.
This applies to me right now more than I can even
describe. Lately, I have been filled with complete emptiness. I miss
my parents. I can be in a room full of people and feel completely
alone. I am walking through the mud, going down a path where I will
get hit in the face with branches. I will be a mess, and it might
hurt. But God is faithful. He will not leave me on this path, he will
guide me to a place of healing and restoration.
