The Forest of Faith

Today starts my re-entry into the Forest of Faith. Much overgrowth has occurred in my absence. More creatures, good and ill may have taken refuge in the dense foliage, yet still I must enter if I want to find my way home. Out here in the clear flat lands, the journey has been relatively easy outside of inclement weather on occasion. I have for the most part, had the advantage of seeing what lies ahead, granting me control of my spiritual destiny. However, all of this changes today, for I stand before what appears to be a heavily robed cavern. Fear grips my breath. I have been through many of these patches of density before, with each one I enter being longer, thicker, and more perilous. I do not relish this part of the trek, as fear has the advantage. Little light trickles through the leafy canopy, the air is heavy requisitioning slower travel. The nights are cold, damp, and scary, with even the brightest torch nothing more than a small match stick in the murky night. No, I do not want to enter this place, it is altogether an uncomfortable experience. But pictures of home dance in my mind and You running to greet me on the other side, spurn my foot to its first step. You have equipped me well for this journey as I realize this unpredictable sod has trapped some of my brethren and other wayfarers. This journey isn't about me only, but a rescue mission for those who have called out to you. If I approach this task from the perspective of finding and helping others, it loses its power over me. Looking for others to help causes my focus to ignore the scrapes and bumps my body endures. When my eyes are on You and home, the path seems shorter. However, since I have traveled woods such as these before, the encouraging excitement of new discovery has been replaced with tactics of survival. Oh Dear One, please help me through this place. Ever remind me You are the One who created the open clear meadow and the Forest of Faith. Whisper Your Faithfulness through the stillness of the fauna, let me see there is no night where You dwell and You do not sleep. Remind me of the benefits of embarking on this pilgrimage, of how my muscles will be strengthened, my lungs expand, my heart learning to beat slower and more evenly during a crisis, and my night vision become acute, so acute that I will see You in any light, able to distinguish Your silhouette from impostors set on my destruction. I am frightened, My Love, as the cold moldy odor wraps around my senses here at the entrance. I can already feel my skin growing cold. Yet the sun is moving and I must enter before dark. So, I'm counting on You to see me through this section of trials on my way home to You. I have little to no cellphone reception in this place, so I must trust you will hear me when I call and know you have equipped me rightly for the skirmishes ahead. Perhaps this time I should look for the beauty in this wood instead of the perils and maybe I will be out in the ope fresh air before I know it....