I think these times feel like this…like we are living in an uncertain in between. You know that place where you are not where you were a short time ago and where you will land in the Ahead Time is not clear either. BETWEEN OK AND OH MY GOD! Literally.
One year when I was a junior counselor at Camp Akita a group of us had a campfire down by the lake. On the other side of the lake. As it happened none of us had brought a flashlight to get us back down the path on our way home. It was not a path used often so there were some turns in it but we weren’t really worried about getting lost we just wanted to get back. As we were going along the guy in the front, Jim Duffy was leading and going at a fairly good pace. We all had hands on the shoulder of the person ahead of us. Someone told Jim to slow down. He said, Then you tell Bobbie to slow down, I’m following her white Tennis shoes. I said, Jim…. I’m behind you. I was about four people back. He stopped. What? he said? What? But I’m following your white shoes. We counted heads and all of us were behind him.
Jim, we said, we are ALL back behind you. Jim didn’t move. “But, but, but, I was following Bobbie’s shoes.”
Now none of us could explain what it was that Jim clearly saw that he was following. He said the next morning he promised he saw footsteps ahead and that is why he was moving so fast. He knew it would be alright. And it was alright.
The why or how or what of that we never knew. We felt like we were in some uncertain inbetween. Between what we could explain and what we could not ever explain.
So in these days we want something to follow to walk us through. We want to know that the road ahead is clear and that we won’t stumble or fall or walk into a tree. But where do we find peace in this uncertain inbetween?
In the places where truth and hope abide. In the places that bring God’s presence to our understanding. In the words we remember from parents or grandparents, or dear phrases from small children. (Mommy has a baby in her tummy? How did it get there?).
Friends do rely on the strength of your friends. Be the guide for others through the inbetween. In the Valley of the Shadow be a guide. Follow the path ahead. And may your way be clear.
God abides, and I thank God
Bobbie Giltz McGarey
Ian Maurice Metzgar’s 2nd Birthday
@Scottsdale AZ 04/01/2020
The Spirit Will Tell You 