One Saturday morning in February in Syracuse NY, my husband, Bill, and I decided to go for a nice, brisk walk! We chose the paved walking path at Onondaga Lake and bundled up, as there were big, fluffy snowflakes gently drifting down that day.
We drove to the Lake and started our walk just as a fierce wind whipped up and the gentle, fat flakes suddenly turned to angry, pelting, ice bombs smacking us in the face. We did our best to press on, burrowing as deeply as we could into our coats and hoods. After a few minutes I shouted over the howling wind, ‘This is just not fun. What do you think?’ He responded, ‘This is good for us, let’s keep going; we’ll turn around at the restroom building up ahead.’
‘OK I’m game, but we can’t even see the building!’
We put our heads down and pressed on. It wasn’t a walk conducive to conversation, so we were both lost in our own thoughts. The occasional commentary indicated those thoughts consisted mostly of contemplating the current state of our misery and suffering: ‘This will make everything else we do this weekend feel like a piece of cake;’ ‘My glasses have a sheet of ice on them;’ ‘It’s amazing how God made us so adaptable and resilient;’ and ‘We are strong and can handle adversity.’
My thoughts turned to how much that walk was a metaphor for our spiritual life as well as our physical one. It was the beginning of Lent after all!
We weren’t too sure how far that building was, but we knew it was up ahead and we knew we would arrive eventually. And when we did and turned around, we would be halfway done with our walk and the worst would be at our backs. As we continued to put one foot in front of the other, we both grew firmer in our resolve to face the suffering and looked forward to the moment we would ultimately claim victory! I could taste the relief of reaching shelter in the car and blasting the heat. I knew once we were warm and dry again, we would feel invigorated. But to gain the ultimate victory we needed to press on through the suffering; it wouldn’t be as sweet if we didn’t earn it all the way!
So many of the storms in our lives of late have felt too overwhelming to keep walking through. I’ve found myself day after day begging for mercy and asking God to take them away. My spirit has been burdened and complaining to the Lord for all that He’s allowing us to bear in this season of our lives. I’ve told Him in frustration many times that ‘I’m getting older, and I can’t handle things as I used to with no problem,’’ but I hear crickets… and the storms don’t let up.
‘Changes need to be made around here,’ my weak humanity shouts, no begs. If one more person tells me God won’t give me more than I can handle, I might just say something not so nice. (Even though I’ve resorted to offering the same well-meaning sentiment from time to time.)
Perhaps I need to walk at the lake in the middle of winter a little more often to remind myself there’s relief up ahead! I may not see it just yet, but I can trust that it’s there. A spirit of willing surrender to embrace some hardship for the gain of ultimate victory, can help turn the tide of my outlook on particularly stormy days.
Indeed, the rest of the weekend was a piece of cake thanks to our altered perspectives. The storms hadn’t changed or gone away, but we were invigorated from just one little walk. Imagine what our greater sufferings are producing in us. Relief is up ahead!
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Phil 3:14
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