Hills of Difficulty

Last updated on: July 10, 2011 at 5:40 pm by luxpickel

Hills of Difficulty 2011-07-10T17:40:23-07:00 luxpickel

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The figure of a pilgrim has always been intriguing to me since I heard a pastor frame the spiritual experience as pilgrimage rather than arrival. Drawing from the book of Hebrews, he asked the gathered listeners to set out on their future life with God as a pilgrimage, which is always moving forward toward the Holy, always full of surprise, always accompanied by the Spirit.

I remembered my university reading in which I was required to read John Bunyan’s A Pilgrim’s Progress. I had read a children’s version as a little girl, but the adult version was much more elaborate and dramatic. It is the story of Christian seeking to reach the Delectable Mountains by an arduous journey, meeting people with apt names such as Pliable and Faithful and Mr. Worldly Wise, and taking him to equally memorable places such as the Slough of Despond, Vanity Fair, and the Doubting Castle (all analogous to parts of Bunyan’s local geography).

I think of pilgrimage again this summer as each week has presented a challenge that has put a spanner in the works of my daily rounds: a straying pet, a routine medical test, medical crises in the extended family, a big three-day freeway closure close to me, a remodeling project. Compared to most of the world, these are luxury “spanners,” and I am aware of the Spirit’s mandate to gratitude that I can afford to have and to find a pet, that I have medical insurance, that I have a car that travels the freeway, that I almost own a house that I can make more hospitable. Yet the appearance of these spanners have made life in the moment more difficult. I thought of Christian at the foot of the Hill of Difficulty, where the road divides in three: one path is marked Danger, one marked Destruction, and the last, called Difficulty, goes straight up in the direction of the Delectable Mountains. In order to get where I am to go on my journey of Spirit, I sometimes need to take the road called Difficulty, to head the climb face forward and keep on marching. What I occasionally forget is that the Holy is present with me in at the bottom of the Hill, at the top of the Hill, and all along the way. The occurrence of “bad things” or hard passages does not mean that a) I am bad or b) God has abandoned me. My challenge is to remember that I am not alone on the Hill of Difficulty, and that the Spirit who guides me is capable of protecting me from Danger or Destruction, even as I keep pushing through.

Maybe the loveliest image from the Bunyan tale is the description of House Beautiful which awaits Christian at the apex of the steep climb, a beautiful place of respite and restoration, symbolizing the nourishment and hospitality of the Church, the people of faith. After the lonely climb, Christian can take heart again in hearing the music of the community, breaking bread with beloved ones at the table, bread for the journey and strength for the next day, drinking in the encouragement and wisdom of others who are also pilgrims.

These days I am among the many pilgrim Christians who are not altogether sure where to lay my head from sojourn to sojourn, Sunday to Sunday and in between. But, I can recognize how the House Beautiful has opened its doors to me in these weeks of Difficulty. I heard a sermon this morning which reminded me that God in present to and uses the difficult things of the world to open my eyes to Hope. I took the sacrament, reminding me of the Presence of the Holy and the presence of a global community. I received notes affirmation that made me know I belong to a virtual family of God. Conversations, on-line, by phone and in person have widened my perspective of what God is doing all over creation, and my faith is strengthened. House Beautiful casts its shadow and restorative power far and wide, and I am able to take on the next right thing for the pilgrimage.

“Happy are the people whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on the pilgrim way!” Psalm 84:8

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