Wednesday, September 17, 2003
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and
gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.
One August she and her husband were hiking two and a half miles up a mountain to a small log
teahouse. The going was tough. Just past the half-way point they stopped to rest beside a lake.
A younger couple greeted them. The younger couple advised them to turn around and go back
down the mountain. They would never make it to the top. The path was too difficult.
Myrtle and her husband decided to rest for awhile and then continue up the mountain. Breathing
heavily, they climbed slowly upward. Young hikers swung past them as if it were nothing.
"Pausing frequently and praying silently," Myrtle said, "we reached the teahouse at last."
The view from the top of the mountain was marvelous. Lakes, trees, rocks, waterfalls, and
cloud-caressed mountaintops set their souls singing with praise and thanksgiving. Myrtle says,
"There are many kinds of mountains we must climb during a lifetime. Our faith in a caring God
will encourage us to take that first step and all the other steps after that."
(1 Peter 1.21
NRSV)
Myrtle Harris knows all about stepping out in faith. Myrtle was diagnosed with cancer. She had
surgery to remove the cancer, but she was still weak. Everyday tasks were completed with
great difficulty, and they sapped all of her strength. Her strength was returning but ever so
slowly.
Dear God, help me to use my faith to bring love to my world. Amen.
