Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Like a Red Rag to a Bull (11/28/13)
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TITLE: The Journey | Previous Challenge Entry
By Barb Burke
12/04/13 -
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I always wave at all those passing by. Many wave back. Some flash big excited grins, some glance around cautiously with stern and serious looks, while others nervously fix their eyes on the road ahead full of anxiety and fear. All are moving in the same direction at different speeds. But the one thing they all have in common is that they are all passing ahead of me.
I inch forward. Suddenly, a speeder comes rocketing by me so fast I can’t even make out who it is. I’ve seen this before; the turbo-powered booster jump. I wave dutifully anyway as they careen out of sight.
With a big sigh, I continue down the long road, lost in thoughts of what waits for me ahead. I often think of all the possibilities and get really excited! But then another gust of someone roaring past me shakes be back into the reality of my current position on the journey. Disappointment. I know if I’m not careful, I could get angry. That would not do, not at all.
I grow tired of watching so many charging ahead in their dreams. My eyes strain to search the horizon eagerly hoping to spot my own red flag waving wildly, calling me to run. Where is it? How long do I have to wait?
I finally stop and sit down with a loud grunt in the middle of the road, eyes cast down, no longer waving anyone onward. At that moment, time seems to still and noise fades away. Then I hear a soft sound in the odd quiet. I close my eyes and try to discern exactly what I hear. A vaguely familiar voice. The voice clears and my heart quickens . . . The Lord is speaking directly to me!
Suddenly the sky opens like a movie screen and replays my travel in exposed detail. I am ashamed to see my obvious reluctance and complaining along the way. I see in this replay what I somehow missed in real time.
In a way only the Lord can do, I notice several of those speeders that I had waved at slowing down, even some of them looking off the side of the road contemplating a different path. How had I missed that? On the sky-screen, my smiling face and waving encouragement bolsters them onward and they move forward in renewed speed and determination.
“You are too busy looking ahead that you are missing My plan for the now.” My Lord’s clear but gentle words make my heart stand still. “Wave others forward at times when they need it the most. Will you do it for Me?”
Tears fall and the skyline screen vanishes. I instantly feel a new depth of comfort and wellness I had not previously experienced. It is all clear to me now. I am not looking ahead for the appearance of my purpose, but I am actually living it out at the pace plotted uniquely for me by my Creator! I leap to my feet with a resounding “Yes!”
No more comparing or trying to match speed with others around me. My course holds all my joy and all my desires. I no longer need to look in the distant horizon waiting for my red flag urging me to boldly charge ahead. No, I again start out down the road just as someone starts to pass. They slow just long enough so that I can look into their face. This time, no dutiful wave and smile. Instead, I whoop and holler richly celebrating their journey and progress. As they speed off ahead, I am satisfied.
(Fiction)
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Excellent work.
God bless~