I'm paralyzed, fearing that the decisions I make will result in even more problems than the ones I have already. Exhausted, I decide to rest. Mentally I sit down on the low stone wall that meanders through the forest. I hear sounds - the chittering of chipmunks, the rapping of a wood pecker. The wind soughs peacefully through the tree branches, green leaves fluttering in a dance. In the distance, i see graceful brown shapes, necks bending. Deer - grazing. I gaze, bewitched by their unselfconscious beauty.
I hear a soft voice. "Good. You're taking time to enjoy the journey."
My back straightens. "Yes," I agree. "I stopped panicking long enough to look around, to relax. But where are You in all of this?"
"If you draw near to me, I draw near to you, remember?"
"Yes."
"Then look around you."
I crane my neck, looking in every direction. The tall, beautiful trees. The sun, slanting through the branches. The chipmunks and squirrels, the woodpeckers and deer. The bewildering paths. Then I feel the sun-warmed surface beneath me, my support, and look at it, winding through the woods ahead of me.
"The wall," I whisper. Quiet, unobtrusive, it will unerringly lead me through the forest to a plain of safety.
"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." (James 4:8)
And sometimes He is as unnoticeable yet dependable as a low stone wall.
(Thanks to Michael Dibble for the photo.)