Walk With Me (16 page)

“So you went by yourself?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Respect gave the loudest sigh Celeste had ever heard. “Did you put on the Cords of Commitment?”

“Of course.”

“Then what are you doing here by yourself?”

“I told you, I couldn’t—”

“I know what you told me—you couldn’t convince your partner to come with you. But let me ask again. Why are you here without your partner? On what grounds did you take your leave of him?”

“The grounds of disagreement.”

“Why didn’t you go the way he wanted?”

“Because it seemed silly to build a raft to cross a pond. It’s such a typical male approach. I prefer staying on firm ground.”

“Except here you are, faced with a slippery log and no way of getting your pack across.”

“I know. How are travelers supposed to get across this?”

“The same way they get across the pond.”

“On a raft?”

“No, together. The only way you will get across is with your partner.”

“But he’s as stubborn as I am. He’ll never agree to come this way.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

Celeste shrugged. “I guess we’ll have to spend the night here.”

“And then what?”

“We’ll have to decide.”

“So why spend the night? Why not decide now?”

“Because it will take a night to convince Peter to come this way.”

“But you said he was stubborn. What makes you think he will choose to come?”

Celeste narrowed her eyes at Respect.

“I know what men and women are like,” Respect said, “and how the King designed the journey for them.”

“How’s that?”

“You know; you’ve read the guidebook. “Wives submit to and respect your husbands as to the King.”

“We haven’t had any problems before now,” Celeste said. “We’ve always come to mutual agreement. We’re equals, you know.”

“Yes, I do know,” Respect said. “You are co-heirs of the life of the King’s grace. But you aren’t the same. You complete each other because you are different from each other. Do you complain about being different when you drink from the chalice? Or when his strengths make up for your weaknesses and your strengths fill in his weaknesses? You are more than equal. You are one.
That’s why I was so disturbed to see you here alone.”

“So you’re saying I should never disagree with him?”

“Of course not. How can you complete him if you say nothing and do nothing? Did you see that couple where the woman refuses to participate? That’s not the way the King wants it. He asks you to yield to Peter, as you yield to Him—”

Respect held up her hand to stop Celeste from speaking. “And please don’t ask the question that everyone else asks: ‘But what about my husband?’ Is that what you learned from the King? No. You learned to work on your own shortcomings, and let the King worry about the other person’s. You are asked to defer to Peter’s leadership when the two of you come to an impasse. Why is that so hard?”

“But men have abused their position. Men have done awful things to women.”

“Yes, they have. People have abused a lot of the King’s rules, but that doesn’t mean we can ignore them. Disobedience does not justify further disobedience.”

“But why should I be forced to submit?”

“You aren’t forced at all. The King bought your freedom and you are free indeed. No one can make you submit. No one will force you, not even the King. The Servant laid down His life with His own free will. You have the same choice.”

“But what if I don’t want to?”

“It is not Peter who is asking you to do this. It is the King. Will you do it for your King?”

“It’s not fair.”

“Fair? Is the King’s way a democracy? Look at my horse. Is it
fair that the nose is not an ear or that the tail is not a leg? It’s not a question of fairness but of how the world was designed to be.”

“I don’t want to become a nobody.”

“How does yielding to Peter make you a nobody?”

“I’ll have to give up all my opinions and thoughts.”

“No, Peter needs you. If you always give in, it’s not healthy. Iron sharpens iron, and you are meant to sharpen Peter. You are called to help him become more like the King. There are times you need to be strong, but there are also times when you should bend.”

“That sounds weak.”

“To bend without snapping requires great strength.”

“But sometimes he is wrong. Sometimes he doesn’t love me the way he should.”

“And sometimes you don’t love Peter the way you should. That doesn’t give him an excuse to be a tyrant over you. And you’re not excused from deferring to him. There will be times he will be wrong. But that does not change things. The King asks you to submit.”

“I don’t like that.”

“Is there anything else in the guidebook you don’t like?” Respect said. “Perhaps you would like to make up your own set of rules?”

Celeste thought of Pigeon Hole and shook her head. “No, I’m not the King.”

“Remember, it’s your decision. The King does not force you.” Respect got back on her horse and took the reins. “I can take you back to your partner now if you want. It will be much easier than walking alone. Give me your hand and step up on the stirrup.”

Celeste hesitated. She was very tired, and she considered how long the walk would be to return to the little traveler and Peter. She took Respect’s outstretched hand, and in a flash she was sitting on the saddle behind the guide.

Respect prodded the horse and they were off. But she did not take Celeste straight back to Peter. They rode through the woods, and while they rode, Respect talked to Celeste about what it meant to treat Peter with honor. She reminded Celeste that when the King had come as the Servant, He had shown respect to His followers by washing their dirty feet. Then He had told them to follow His example. “The Servant’s path is not always an easy way,” Respect said, “and you need to remain attached to Him, like a branch on a vine.”

When Respect dropped Celeste off at the pond, Peter and the little traveler were taking a nap in the sun. As her shadow fell across Peter, he woke up and smiled at her. “You’ve come back.”

“Yes, I’ll help you build the raft.”

“Thank you,” he said. “It’s much harder to do it alone.”

O
nce they reached the other side of the pond, Peter and Celeste stopped to look at their map, and saw there was a gathering hut close by. It had been a long time since they had visited one. During their long struggle through the Swamp of Selfishness, they had lost interest in sharing with other travelers and learning more about the King. And since walking in the woods, they had gotten distracted by berry picking and exploring. Even with one close by, they debated whether they should go. As they calculated how much time the detour would take, a guide named Joyful Heart approached.

The guide spent a long moment looking them over. Peter and Celeste became self-conscious, for they were winded from climbing the slight rise from the pond. Their packs tilted with the
heavy burdens they carried, and their cords were still dirty from all the swamp mud.

“What are you waiting for?” Joyful Heart said. “There’s nothing to figure out. The gathering huts have been placed at regular intervals along the way to give travelers rest and encouragement. From looking at you two, it would appear you haven’t been taking advantage of this benefit. It’s dangerous to get out of the habit of going to the huts and receiving the support they offer. What good will it do if you set off for the King’s City but give up and never arrive?”

“We’ve been awfully busy on our journey,” Peter said. “And then we took a few wrong turns that took us off the main path.”

“We have each other, too,” Celeste said.

“Many traveling partners make that mistake,” Joyful Heart said. “They think they do not need to go to the gathering hut as often as single travelers. But you need just as much help. The guidebook urges all travelers to meet together and encourage one another on the way. And it’s not just what you can receive. You can give help to other travelers so that no one falls behind or drops out.”

Peter looked at Celeste. “What do you say? I have been thinking it would be nice for the little traveler to learn the King’s songs.”

“And I wouldn’t mind hearing from other travelers about how they take care of their children,” Celeste said. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m doing what is best for the little traveler.”

The path to the gathering hut followed through a gentle grove, then led them to a gate made of saplings. A sign above it
said, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.” They could hear singing coming from inside the hut.

“I had forgotten how beautiful the King’s songs are,” Celeste said.

Peter sighed. “Me too.”

As they entered, Encouragement, the guide of the gathering hut, had just stood to speak. “The King designed the journey so you could become more like Him. If you fall, remember that He is faithful even when we are faithless, and He will teach you as you go. Some of you have had many challenges, but these haven’t been to punish you for something you did wrong. These were given to train you, so you could learn how to walk easily and with a good stride. In the future as you go through hard times, remember He is also the King of comfort who comes alongside you.”

“I need that comfort,” said a traveler who walked with a painful limp because she had broken her leg and not waited for it to set properly.

“You are not alone,” Encouragement said. “There are many others here who are wounded. The Servant says to you, ‘Are you
tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me, and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.’

“When we keep company with the Servant,” Encouragement said, “we will discover the help that comes from joining together. As I look out on this group, I see a lot of wounds that need to be healed.” He asked people to come forward with their rags of compassion soaked in the tears of the Servant to help travelers who were hurting.