Originally written on February 10, 2014
Once, a man had a dream, a vision. In his vision, he was continually worn out, continually tripping over the exact same stone over and over again. Each time, he saw a Stranger standing near him, willing to help him up, brush the dust off his clothes, and walk with him down the road. Despite the kind smile on the Stranger's face, the man kept tripping on the stone without reaching out to the Stranger for aid.
After countless times of tripping over the same exact stone, the man fell to his knees, and gave up, wondering why he couldn't conquer the stone: "Why can't I overcome this stone? It's large, I see it every time, yet each time I attempt to cross over the stone, I trip and fall right on my face again."
The Stranger gently responded, "Do you not see the whole picture? Do you not see that it's not just a stone you're trying to overcome, but a boulder?" With that, the stone grew to become a massive boulder as the Stranger described, "Have you not seen me reaching to help you conquer this boulder one step at a time?"
"I tried, and failed, to conquer this boulder on my own because I don't want to feel or look weak..."
With that, what seemed to be random phrases danced across his thoughts: "My grace is sufficient for you... when you are weak, then you are strong..."
"Look to the sky," the Stranger replied, guiding the man to gaze at the night sky, "Who created those?"
The man didn't respond, not sure how to respond.
The Stranger continued, "The many wonders of the heavens are not there by mere chance... and neither are you. You've been walking this winding road your whole life, but you have never looked at the whole picture. All your life, those little stones and bumps and curves in the road were actually boulders," the man began to see the many obstacles on the road in his past, "Each one of those obstacles was an opportunity for you to grow: to swallow your pride, grab my hand, and let me guide you down this road I have personally walked."
Baffled, the man then told the Stranger, "Why didn't I see you standing there when I faced those previous obstacles? Why weren't you there?"
"You always made the decision to look at how large the problems in life were, rather than how large I am. You always looked for the problems, but rarely searched me out. You know me, but you still have yet to fully trust me to lead you down this road and past the obstacles," the Stranger gently replied, "Come. Walk with me. I will show you the most excellent way."
The man was unable to see the end of the road he was on, but in a leap of faith, he took the Stranger's hand and walked with Him down the road. Along the way, each boulder seemed to grow smaller and smaller as the man learned to trust the Stranger more. Eventually, the boulders became pebbles that the Stranger and the man walked on top of. In the hindsight, the man gazed back to look at what he expected- millions upon millions of boulders.. yet when he looked back, all he saw was the dust and stones upon the path, with two sets of footprints leading right up to the present moment. Where all the boulders once stood, shining crosses stood in their place...
After countless times of tripping over the same exact stone, the man fell to his knees, and gave up, wondering why he couldn't conquer the stone: "Why can't I overcome this stone? It's large, I see it every time, yet each time I attempt to cross over the stone, I trip and fall right on my face again."
The Stranger gently responded, "Do you not see the whole picture? Do you not see that it's not just a stone you're trying to overcome, but a boulder?" With that, the stone grew to become a massive boulder as the Stranger described, "Have you not seen me reaching to help you conquer this boulder one step at a time?"
"I tried, and failed, to conquer this boulder on my own because I don't want to feel or look weak..."
With that, what seemed to be random phrases danced across his thoughts: "My grace is sufficient for you... when you are weak, then you are strong..."
"Look to the sky," the Stranger replied, guiding the man to gaze at the night sky, "Who created those?"
The man didn't respond, not sure how to respond.
The Stranger continued, "The many wonders of the heavens are not there by mere chance... and neither are you. You've been walking this winding road your whole life, but you have never looked at the whole picture. All your life, those little stones and bumps and curves in the road were actually boulders," the man began to see the many obstacles on the road in his past, "Each one of those obstacles was an opportunity for you to grow: to swallow your pride, grab my hand, and let me guide you down this road I have personally walked."
Baffled, the man then told the Stranger, "Why didn't I see you standing there when I faced those previous obstacles? Why weren't you there?"
"You always made the decision to look at how large the problems in life were, rather than how large I am. You always looked for the problems, but rarely searched me out. You know me, but you still have yet to fully trust me to lead you down this road and past the obstacles," the Stranger gently replied, "Come. Walk with me. I will show you the most excellent way."
The man was unable to see the end of the road he was on, but in a leap of faith, he took the Stranger's hand and walked with Him down the road. Along the way, each boulder seemed to grow smaller and smaller as the man learned to trust the Stranger more. Eventually, the boulders became pebbles that the Stranger and the man walked on top of. In the hindsight, the man gazed back to look at what he expected- millions upon millions of boulders.. yet when he looked back, all he saw was the dust and stones upon the path, with two sets of footprints leading right up to the present moment. Where all the boulders once stood, shining crosses stood in their place...
