Welcome, Wanderers! If you’ve been here from the beginning, you just might recognize this piece. If not, then stick around; you’re in for something special.
Some stories stop you in your tracks, capturing you in an ocean of emotion until their very end. It’s then that you take a breath, realizing that you had held it all along. And somehow, you know you’re different now for having met with those words.
This is one of those pieces.
Enjoy.
Stepping off a smooth ledge, I find myself plunging down to rocky ground. The bruised soles of my barren feet send shockwaves of pain through worn, long-journeyed legs. Squinting into the darkness, I see two shadowed forms, recognizing their shape from similar times past.
And so, intersection begins.
Emerging here, on the edge, I arrive at the pair of beams, anchoring a weathered bridge to this mountainside; familiar, and yet, new, different, with so much still unknown. Aged vines weave into the bridge’s wooden framework, fading from sight as the downward dip of the planks disappear into a weighted fog.
Icy air pricks across numb skin. The steady thumping in my chest, the pulsing warmth in my veins, pushing back against a surrounding coldness I cannot escape; reminding me I am still living, still breathing, still fighting.
I hear soft footsteps on the narrow path behind me, and I know what is coming.
I know who is coming.
For a moment, I wondered if I would turn to see the face of evil come to torment me again. But no. It is my faithful companion.
Ever-watchful.
Ever-near.
It is not her I fear, but rather, why she is here. It’s time, again.
Time to let go of what has been.
Time to receive what is to come.
Time to grow, again.
The pack I carry on my back feels lighter than when she last gave it to me. I’ve gotten stronger. I’ve learned all I can from what I now carry.
Before I’ve twisted to look, she has arrived at my side. Her gentle hand rests atop mine as I grip the bridge’s edge. She does not push. She does not shove.
I am grateful, for it is not always so.
I don’t always see her, hear her, feel her near, until the full shift is upon me.
It is in those unexpected, jolting, gut-wrenching times that I do not comprehend until later the gentle ways she was there, subtly preparing me. Out of plain view. A closeness surprisingly easy to miss. Flashes of light in the corner of my eye. Wondering if it was real. If she was real.
Tonight, together, we pause.
The soft amber glow radiating from her skin, the hot white light from her chest, now illuminates beyond the edges of this valley.
I recognize the gift she carries. This Light shining into the night. Leading her to me.
The last ember never dies. It cannot be snuffed out. Not even by the most violent of storms.
It is the same Light within me. Abiding beneath my scarred, mud-caked skin.
She is here to prepare me, train me, equip me, and watch over me. She was created, chosen, to answer this call of the Light.
Shrugging out of my old, familiar pack feels strange. A piece of me long carried, now like shedding skin which no longer fits. Even if I tried to hold on, eventually it would dissolve away.
Gently kneeling onto the uneven ground, I place the pack between us. Discerning the Light’s leading, we sort through what I am tasked to still hold, and what needs to be released—its purpose complete. I watch as she reaches behind into her own pack, and transfers unfamiliar items to me; I do not yet know or understand their purpose. I am grateful, for she knows what I will need, beyond what I can see.
As I stand, she lingers by the ground. Gingerly removing a canister from her side, she begins to pour a cleansing liquid over my feet, washing away the layers of grime. The glow from my own internal Light increases as my skin can breathe again, and the coming placement for my first steps onto the bridge flash into view.
Determined to follow the Light’s lead, I heave the pack onto my shoulders, feeling the push forwards. Navigating the balance of added weight, sensation settling in. It will take time, but I will learn to carry this well.
With resolve, I remember each test, each trial, is strengthening, refining, for a plan far beyond me. Slowly revealing what once only the Light could foresee.
Rejoining me at the edge, I watch her breath mist before my eyes in a whisper to my ear, breaking through the surrounding chill. She tells of more I must gather when I reach the depths of this valley. My mind whirls, but then slowly, each word transforms with a settling calm, thoughts drifting into focus, becoming as clear as the most crystalline flake of snow.
Taking it all in, I look up, distinguishing the canopy of trees silhouetted against a sapphire sky. Stars dance through this mysterious overhead sea. I hold dear such a wondrous reminder of truth; the Light treasures me far more than each radiant jewel sparkling above in the heavens.
Smiling, I realize fear has melted away.
My Hope is set.
This Love unbounds.
I feel her press a cool object into my hand. The metal tingles against my skin, and I feel a word of Truth etched across its center. Raising to view, I see a locket. Gently, I open it to find seven tiny seeds. The moment the Light within me touches each seed—igniting a tremble to ripple through each one—tiny sprouts begin to break through their shells, and reflexively I reclose its seal.
For deep within I know their roots are meant for the heart of this valley.
One day they will grow to heights of this bridge, lending support for other travelers set to come this way. I secure the chain, resting over my heart, tucked close, marveling at the honor of being entrusted with such a task.
Her hand now rests on my back, signaling what must come next.
It’s time.
With a grounding breath, I nod, and take my first step onto this uncharted bridge. Moving forwards, leaving the outcrop, parting from her. It is not goodbye. I know the time will come. I will see her soon.
How I long for the day when her coming is to take me to a mountaintop. Where the sun is free to stretch across lands of praising fields. Where a breeze unhindered can carry each melody. Where this journey wading through muck and mire has finally broken through, complete, to a life renewed.
Until then, every hope and prayer, I carry here with me.
Each new territory traversed, each twist and turn, all within the boundaries of these same shadowed lands. I do not know if my mountaintop will be within its borders, or if I must endure until the Light calls me through the veil.
Above the clouds, my true home awaits.
In this in between, still, the Light rests with me.
So I press on.
Stepping in faith.
Trusting each jagged outcrop, each valley, each pain ridden path, are all taking me to where I’m called to be.
Along the way, the Light brings sustaining life to me. A lone wild flower breaking through dry, cracked earth; declaring hope alive, unquenchable. A ray of sunlight chasing shadows; glimmering, swirling, like a sparkle of undissolvable joy. A momentary joining of eyes with a stranger; two souls encountering at the narrow divide. A refreshing meeting with a fellow traveler; pausing to break bread, share stories of hard-won knowledge from travels past, and bandage the wounds we could not reach on our own.
Lighter, we go on our way.
If I glance back, I catch a glimpse of each soul’s very own, ever-trailing companion, and I know that likewise, mine is not far off, following the Lights lead.
Ever-waiting, ready to intercede.
I never embark on this journey alone.
And watching over it all, the Light always will be.
Fully surrendered, my spark of life grows, roots grounding deep.
Strength to go on comes not from I, but the Light within.
Light that leads me.
Light that guides me.
Light that protects me.
Light that shelters me.
Light that restores me.
Light that refreshes me.
Light that goes with me.
Light that sees me.
Light that knows me.
Light that loves me.
Light that carries me.
Light that holds me.
Light that never leaves me.
Light that lifts what burdens me.
I trust the Light.
My constant source.
It is this Light that leads Change to me, and it is this Light that leads me to Change.
Ever-meeting.
Ever-sharpening.
Ever-refining.
Anchored to the Light.
My hope.
My strength.
My courage.
My very breath of life.
The Light, indeed.
From here we go.
The Light and me.
Onwards I press, though uncertain of all else, I have found my peace complete, here with the Light.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Psalm 23:4 ESV
✧
“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
1 Peter 5:10-11 NIV
Hannah loves to share about homeopathy—with hope in God as our healer, and desires to help others feel equipped to confidently care for their families. She has a unique approach to health, thinking outside the box, and shares this holistic perspective with a heart to support others walking through the layers of their healing journeys. She lives in constant awe of the ways God works through her life, and gives all glory to Him!
Want to support us with a one-time donation? Click the button below!
We will always remain reader-supported and ad-free.
If you’ve found a bit of wonder here, consider supporting the journal; your subscription helps us continue and give more to the writers who create them.
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.