While I wasn't directly involved in ministry in Everett this week, I was able to experience the teaching of the Lord each day. First of all He continues to prompt me to pray more and more. I found that I didn't have enough time to pray this week due to our crazy 7 person family being in a two room cabin, so I prayed when prompted to. The odd part is that the more I pray, the more I want to pray. It is clear that we are designed to NEED fellowship with our Creator.
The second major lesson this week came yet again in the form of a hike, this time on the backpacking trip with the boys. If you have never backpacked, you probably need a description of what it is like. Imagine gathering all of the belongings you will need for 2-3 days including shelter, food, clothing, and comfort items. Next, your job is to fit all of them into a backpack that is somewhere between 55 and 70 liters in volume. Once the pack is on, you have easily added 30-40lbs to your weight, and it pulls on your shoulders via the backpack straps. After making some adjustments, you feel the pressure of the weight on your waist more than your back. At this point, you are ready to hike into the wilderness about 4-6 miles.
Since this was the first trip the boys have been on, I wanted to make sure the experience was a good one. I was very careful to get the right size pack for each of them, and made certain that I was carrying the majority of our equipment. Generally they carried their sleeping bags and ground pad, food, personal clothing, and one other item that was relatively light. We fitted their packs on their shoulders and were very careful to adjust all of the straps in the proper order so that the weight was distributed to the right place (lower is better), with the goal being their comfort.
Once we hit the trail, predictably we ran into some issues. One at a time each of the boys experienced some hardship. Their initial pride in going backpacking with Dad and in their mileage accomplishments on past hikes gave way to pain and uncertainty. We probably stopped every 2/10ths of a mile to make further adjustments to alleviate pressure on their shoulders and backs. After the first 3/4 of a mile I had to open several of their packs and rearrange the load distribution. At one point I had unloaded one of their packs almost completely along the trail just so we could do the task the right way. Other hikers had to step over our stuff and I got some interesting looks from them as they passed me by. Our initial progress was quite slow.
Once all of their packs were adjusted for comfort, we still had about 2.5 miles to go until we could drop our packs at the campground. The battle shifted from one of discomfort and pain to one of motivation. As our number of steps increased and our elevation did the same, everyone began battling tired feet and legs. My role then shifted to that of chief motivator. This involved me walking beside each boy, making eye contact, encouraging, and sometimes pulling the map out to show how far we had already gone and the "short" distance we still had to go. The attitudes of the boys were not always good during this time and I don't blame them. It certainly was a difficult hike. Our relief later came in the form of one of my sons, who was ahead of the rest of the group. He excitedly ran back down the trail to meet me with his backpack nowhere to be seen. With glee in his voice he announced that we had reached the campsite!
This is where I see a lesson from the Lord. On occasion He allows me to see my relationship with Him through the lens of my relationship with my sons. He does this, I believe, as a reminder of my obligation to follow Him, to trust, to love, and to strive in the little strength I have and the great strength He has.
Dad, this trail hurts.
Yes, son, I know. Remember that I told you it would not be easy. The end of the trail is worth it!
Dad, my pack hurts.
Let me adjust the load for you. There, that's better.
Dad, the pack really hurts. I feel like my back is hurting. Can you help?
Yes, son, I can help you. Let's reposition the stuff in your back a bit.
Dad, I think this is too heavy for me.
No problem, son. I'll take some of the weight to help you out.
Dad, where's the campsite? Are we lost?
It's coming up, son! It won't be too far. Every step is getting us closer to it. Follow me. I know the way.
I hope you can grasp the parallels with me. The walk of a Christian isn't an easy one if it is done correctly. There are some easy points and many difficult ones. The final destination is worth every second of the pain.
Matthew 7:14
But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.
As we go, Jesus goes with us, taking every step we take. The pack doesn't disappear, but its load is shifted and adjusted based upon what we are able to bear in our little strength. If we ask the Father, he will share the load with us, and we will continue to move forward.
Matthew 11:28-30
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
1 Corinthians 1:25
This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.
We may demand to get to the destination right now, and the point we are on in the path may seem like it is a million miles from anywhere. But in the end we don't need to know about what lies ahead on the trail because that really wouldn't do us any good. The Father only reveals what we need to see right now.
Acts 9:15-16
But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
I actually didn't wind up taking any of the items that my boys were carrying, although I would have if they had asked me. Why would I do that? Love. I don't want to run them into the ground. I want them to succeed and I want what is best for them. In this case, what was best for them was to carry a partial load for the experience of doing it, realizing all the while that they weren't carrying as much as I was. They also needed to realize that they needed direction, direction that I had. They needed to follow and trust me.
Is it at all possible that the Lord does these same things to us for the same reasons? I find all too often that I get frustrated with the Lord because He won't take my entire load. I get frustrated because the path we are traveling on hurts and has required us to shed so many things that brought us comfort. I complain because all I can focus on is my pain and my striving and my lack of strength, when the One who can provide everything I need at that moment is right next to me. And his silence and lack of action are not a lack of caring on His part, and it isn't disengagement. It actually is done in love, because He knows what is best, and He knows The Way.
Did you pick up on the theme in this little parable? Communication. We must communicate with the Father, not because He is aloof or detached, and not because he is unaware of our current circumstances, but because He wants us to talk to him about...everything. You and I are called to pray so that we may connect with the Father who cares for us more than anyone else we know in this world. During prayer we can ask for things in our weakness that are only able to be fulfilled in His strength and greatness.
Matthew 6:8
Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!
In these times when my relationship with my sons is a picture of my relationship to the Father, I am humbled. I often do not measure up to what He does with me. I am not as patient, not as wise, and certainly not as encouraging. His greatness challenges me to be more like Him, and do it at all times with all people, starting with my own family. Admittedly I am not there yet, but the Lord leads us on.
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