Disney Land or Outwardbound

Published with the Authors permission
thank you Gail this tells my hearts feelings so well. I have added one thought to the final sentence hope that is OK.

Disneyland or Outward Bound?

When I had my family, I thought I’d booked a trip to Disneyland – a magical world of fairy tale endings with exciting, but reassuringly safe, rides – a beautiful landscape, lots of happy smiling faces where dreams come true......... Instead I find myself on an outward bound course designed by a particularly sadistic ex-SAS sergeant!! At times I’m lost in the forest, hacking away at the undergrowth around me. I’ve no idea where I’m going ‘cos I can’t see far ahead. I’m just surrounded, overwhelmed by greenery blocking my path and my view. At times I’m up to my neck in water at the bottom of a dark valley. Then, just as I seem about to reach the other side, it starts raining and I feel like I’m going under. At times I’m plodding relentlessly uphill, scrabbling for finger holds, often slipping and sliding back down. I keep going on because I must – there just isn’t another option. I’m not strong it’s just that I’ve got nowhere else to go – no-one else to be! Then there are times that I reach the top of a hill and rest awhile. I can see back to the journey I’ve taken and get a certain sense of pride from what I’ve achieved. There are times that I break out of the forest and come to a watering hole – a moment of oasis from the fight – a brief respite when I realise the forest is never “never-ending”. There are times when I DO get to the other side of the river, climb out on the banks to dry out and recover and realise that – Yes – I am actually a stronger, better person for having crossed it. At each of these moments of pause, of reflection, I CAN see the difficult journey I’ve taken to get there. The REAL killer though, is that I can’t see what’s coming next. I’ve no idea what trials and tribulations are just round the next corner. If I try to imagine them, I go slightly mad! I’m overwhelmed by the fear of what lies ahead. I see how difficult it’s been so far and project that onto the rest of my life – that’s when I REALLY start to drown, slip and prepare for defeat. The thing is with this sort of journey is that you can only handle one hurdle at a time. If you try to attack the entire outward bound course in one hit, then you won’t even be able to take the first step. The other thing is that you only get the tools for the trial when you actually face them – you don’t get a machete till you’re stuck in the forest. You don’t get a boat till you’re in the river. You don’t get a rope till you’re at the bottom of a cliff. Know Why? Because although this course seems to be designed by a sadistic ex-SAS sergeant, your guide and CONSTANT companion is a super-savvy Sherpa! He KNOWS the route, will guide you through it giving you the tools and directions that you need as, and when, you need them. He won’t tell you what’s over the next hill, because you don’t need to know that yet. But he WILL tell you how to get up THIS hill – even though it may be three steps forward, two steps back at times. Our God is an awesome God – he won’t test us more than we can endure and is the only one who will be there for us every step of the way – sometimes encouraging, sometimes challenging and sometimes carrying us. Disneyland would’ve been nice, but there’s always a feeling of disappointment after the last firework of the day goes off. Or after queuing for an hour for a two minute joyride. There’s no sense of achievement in just hopping on a monorail from one park to the next. OUR outward bound course MAY be more demanding, MAY NOT be what we signed up for, and MAY frequently bring us right to the edge of what we can humanly cope with, but it will NEVER defeat us – we have that as a cast iron promise. We WILL be challenged beyond what we once thought were the limits of our capabilities, but we WILL make it –-For though God may not choose to rescue us from our difficulties, He will be with us in them.
I will Never leave you or foresake you!
Lo I am with you always even unto the end of the world!