a group of people, including yourself, stand in a semi-circle listening to directions. the instructions are given and you all take the spots. the color that you once saw drowned out by the blindfold tied around your eyes. You stand on a small platform big enough for your feet to be standing on and that's it. "Alright begin!" a single voice resounds then within a matter of seconds your ears are bombarded with a multitude of voices telling you what step to take next. there is an obstacle course that you are suppose finish without touching the ground,everyone else around is to give you directions, and there is one person in the middle on the obstacle course who once you meet you can grab their hand and they can guide you with their hand and voice but until then they can only vocally direct you. you decipher a few directions that seem to be coming from a couple of different people, your friends, and choose to follow them. first step, complete. so you listen again...a resounding group of voices again. so you take the step again. second step complete. again...listen, go. left foot out with a slight height increase...your foot misses completely and you fall to the grassy ground. unable to remove the blindfold the leaders of the obstacle come and help you up, taking you back to the beginning. as you are led back you wonder what went wrong? why would they led me in a wrong direction? Again you try the course, fail. Again fail. what is going on? at this point so fed up with the blindfold and just want to give up on this stupid obstacle course. And to your fortune this time the leaders remove the blind fold but put on special goggles that won't allow you to look down. You are able to look at those around you and the person in front of you. Your eyes slowly adjust to the light to see that everyone on the sides are blindfolded too. They had a chance to look through the obstacle course but then they were all blindfold. the only person who isn't is the person in the middle. this time you try hard to to focus on the person in the middle but you can't hear them everyone else is too loud. So you try on your own. it worked. alright again. fail. Again and again you try listening to others trying yourself but never being able to accomplish the task. You wearily step up onto the small platform once again. people start barking orders again...you yell above everyone else and ask them to stop talking. The middle person's voice comes clear and you step by step still a little unsteady go father and farther until you reach them. their hand now guide yours allow with their reaffirming voice and within moments you finishing the obstacle course.
This past week there was one these obstacle courses that I've done before at high school and leadership building retreats were brought to my mind, but not in that task so much as the metaphor to life. So often we are like the blindfolded person aimlessly wandering trying to follow the right path. We turn to friends, to family, to people we don't know, to things, but we miss the one person who knows and sees the path that is before us. And all we need to do is listening and lift our eyes to that one being, Jesus Christ.
"If only we took the time to turn our eyes and hearts away from this world, even from the faces of family and friends that surround us, the joys that attract us and distract us, and fix them steadfastly on the face of Jesus, He would manifest himself to our hearts and we would be filled with the consciousness that He is with us."
Absolute Surrender by, Andrew Murray
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2
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9 comments:
look at how big your guns are in that picture...geez you could like eat a tree with those things.
is the huge picture you and laura on the montana? cuz thats what it looks like but yah know i was only up there for like 20 minutes
you would love it here. there is like 5 inches of snow and it is sooo pretty, I just remember you telling me how much you like snow and the christmas season. i cant not think about you when i see it. haha it is wonderful
so...there was thi little kid on the plane ride home and me and callie were joking around with each other and he kept looking at us and laughing so i asked him his name...in spanish. i was like como te llamas and the was like what?? then i realized what happened and callie and i laughed.
i just thought you would like to have some comments since you usually dont get them. so comment comment comment haha
i hope i was able to make you laugh cuz that is what i was trying to do.
Well as I read this I was drawn into your story, it was captivating, hanging by every word until the tension resolved. Even though by the time you begin the obstacle I knew what point your were making. And then as I was reading it I thougth this is exactly what Heb 12:1,2 are talking about, and then you went there. So thanks for the reminder of pressing out the noise of advice sometimes and straining to keep my eyes on Jesus alone. Who is the author and perfector of our faith. It is funny that we so easly run to false joys, temporary pleasures, and lacking relationships when we have Christ who is greater than all and can fulfill our every need. It Him be all the glory forever and ever and ever. AMEN
hey eric what are you trying to out do me or something? with your one comment that is huger than all mine put together? too bad it isnt working because with this comment i will completely beat you. since this post is the extra couple words i need to beat your comment.
now you caught yourself counting the words to see didnt you. but i didnt so this post is completely useless, except for the part of when Kendra logs on and sees that she has 8 comments she is gunna be like awesome. but then she will read through and see that they are all from me (cept for yours) and the she will read yours first and then mine and find herself laughing and the pure hilariousness (i dont know if thats a word) of my humor. hahahahahaha
i find myself coming back to this story time after time, when going through my life...for example, i told my grandma about the staff thing and she told me to not go that it was a dumb idea...but what she doesnt know is the whole God part, and surrendering my life to him. so...just thought you would like to know
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