Taking a step outside your comfort zone can lead to amazing things. I am not one for women’s conferences, especially if it involves a church I do not attend. A dear friend bought a ticket for me to attend a simulcast for a Women of Faith conference. I dreaded it up until it started. I had a perfect excuse lined up not to go, but I went because she had bought the ticket for me and I needed to give it a shot, move past my comfort zone and head into the unknown. I am grateful to my friend for buying my ticket, because I learned so much from the conference and discovered a few things about myself in the process.
Several things said at the conference spoke to me, but the thing that has stuck with me the most is something Christine Caine said. She mentioned that the trip from Egypt to the promised land of Canaan was measured at a journey that should have taken 11 days, but because of all the people who did not listen to the Lord, it took 40 years to get to the promised land. God’s people wandered around in the desert for 40 years, walking around the same territory over and over. God provided for them but can you imagine having the promised land that close and not being able to take it? Can you imagine walking around the same territory over and over, doing laps around the same areas? I think what made it tolerable was God’s promise that it would be theirs at the right time.
Are we not walking around the same territory, walking around the mountain of truth and healing we need to go through? I am not suggesting we are wandering because we are being punished by God as the Israelites were. We are punishing ourselves by not taking the steps to move forward.
Comparing the amount of problems and muck left behind by the abuse to a mountain really does not sit well with me actually. I kind of look at it like a swamp. Imagine an “okay” kind of place you are living in. You have learned to survive in it, obeying the rules and living according to standards you never dared to challenge. You believe what you are told, manage the best you can, thinking you have no other choice and need to make the best of it. Right next to where you are living there is a giant swamp, full of the unknown, and the thought of entering it is frightening. One day you meet someone who has been to the other side of the swamp. They tell you of the tough journey but emphasize the beautiful place on the other side. The freedom to make the best of your life and not just settle is on this other side. Every day you start to think about the promise of a better life, weighing the risks and benefits. You wonder if you are strong enough to make your way through the swamp. One day you ask this person to be your guide through the swamp or draw you a map. All they can do however is just give you a general idea. The swamp is always changing and everyone’s journey through it is different. Different travelers will encounter different dangers, but it is survivable if you want it to be. Take the steps and travel to the other side.
I have been in a swamp before. It smelled bad, there were bugs everywhere, alligators swam through the waters and I never really knew what was around the corner. I was in a boat through one of these excursions. Weeds kept clogging the motor and several times we just drifted along, hoping the alligators near us decided we were not worth the trouble. The swamp also had some good aspects, whether walking through it or riding in the boat. I saw different types of wildlife I would not normally encounter. There were spots of dry land where the sun provided warm and beautiful views. Even drifting along in the boat it gave me a quiet chance to take in all that was around me. I was not uncomfortable and scared the entire time. I have tried, but I cannot find a positive side to the smell or bugs.
Recovery is the same. We all have to travel through similar muck and nastiness but it is not all bad. The highlights are where we learn to set our feet so we do not sink into a pile of stinky mud again. We will encounter alligators that threaten our progress but we learn to work around them and let them drift away. In the thickest parts of the swamps it will really stink and there will be things that bug us constantly. This is not a place anyone wants to stay in, seriously. It may feel like a good place to give up but you will stay miserable and never see the other side. It is important not to forget why you started the journey through the swamp. There is a promise of a better place on the other side. Trudge through, keep swatting the bugs, and avoiding alligators. When you get to the sunny, dry spots, soak it in. Enjoy the victory of getting to that place. Rest and gather your strength for the next part of the journey. Listen for the voices of others in the same swamp. Try to meet up and encourage each other. Keep your hope in what lies on the other side.
Finally the terrain begins to change. It is still slightly swampy and smelly but there are more areas of dry land that is easier to navigate. There are more sunny and warm places to take a break. The end is finally in sight and you start to rejoice in the strength discovered within yourself. You have grown and learned how to survive. You encounter more people on the same journey and they have survived their own trek through the swamp. Stories are shared and encouragement is gathered from each one.
As we move further away from the swamp the sky becomes more blue, the grass greener, and the air sweeter. The oppression and sense of hopeless of where you came from has been left in the swamp. Hope and freedom is abundant. You have learned to enjoy your life, the life God intended for you to live.
A few more thoughts about the Israelites taking the promised land. When it was time, they marched around the city for 6 days in a row, as God commanded them to do. On the 7th day they did the same but made 7 trips around the city. The trumpets blew and the people shouted and the walls came down flat. When we seek God’s help in our journey and shout out to him, our walls will also start to fall and we will become open to what he has promised.
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