Walk With Me (3 page)

But one day when she came to the ramparts, she found a spotless cloak of fine white linen. “This is My robe of righteousness to cover the stains of your guilt,” she heard the King say to her. “Come and take it, because I want you to be My beloved daughter.”

Celeste gazed at the bright, radiant robe which was perfect in every way. She could hardly believe that the King would let her wear it. Then she became very sad. “But I have no money to buy such a wonderful robe.”

“You cannot pay for it. It is a free gift,” the King said. “My Son purchased it for you.”

Celeste hesitated a moment, then she took the robe and put it on. The transformation was instantaneous: she had become a member of the King’s family. She beamed with delight. Now she
could start her journey to His city. “Thank you, thank you,” she told the King.

“As you follow the trail I have blazed to My city, go with joy and remain always in My love. Your great adventure begins!”

Like a powerful wind pouring through her being, the Breath of the King filled Celeste—never had she felt so light and free. Then, on the other side of the ramparts, a path opened before her. Hurrying to it, she started on her way. As soon as she stepped out of Slouching City, a glorious country appeared before her, and it seemed that she was looking at the world for the very first time. The sky was bluer than she had ever seen, and there were so many birds singing, it sounded like a symphony. The air held a fragrance whose sweet-smelling bouquet was deeper and fuller than any perfume made in Slouching City. She took one last look at its tumbled-down walls. Now in the bright sunlight, she could see what a small, dark place the city was. Then she turned. Grateful to leave it behind, she set her gaze on the far horizon, and headed to the King’s City.

That first day of Celeste’s journey the path was straight and flat, bordered with soft ferns. She swung her arms as she walked, singing the King’s songs out loud and smiling at the beauty she saw all around. She expected the journey would be smooth and easy the entire way. However the next day, the trail became studded with tree roots and stubby stones. The years she had spent pacing the dead-end alleys of Slouching City had left her legs weak. By early afternoon, she was exhausted. But she pressed on, working to strengthen her flabby muscles.

In the days that followed, she discovered she was not the
only one going to the King’s City. There were other travelers on the path and she became friends with many of them. She enjoyed walking with them and learning more about the journey. They told her it was always good to ask other travelers which direction to go, for some trails through the King’s country had been taken over by people who no longer cared about reaching the King’s City. They encouraged her to stop regularly at the gathering huts along the way, where travelers shared meals and encouraged each other, for the long journey to the King’s City was not meant to be taken alone. If she walked with other travelers, it would be easier to avoid the difficulties and dangers that lay ahead.

One day when Celeste’s legs were strong enough, she climbed to the top of an overlook. As she gazed at the towering peaks, the thick forests, and the vast, spacious sea, she thought of the greatness of the King’s love for her, how wide and long and high and deep it was. She knew that no matter what happened to her or how hard the journey was, she would never go back to Slouching City. She was headed for a better kingdom, and she couldn’t wait to get there.

She continued on her journey, sometimes walking with other travelers, sometimes going by herself. Before long, she began to wish she had someone to walk with the whole way. During the day, as she enjoyed the scenery and chatted with her new friends, she didn’t mind it so much. But at night as she ate her supper, she felt a deep yearning for a partner. It was not a thirst that could be filled in one swallow, but a hunger that could be satisfied only in a long banquet. Celeste often spent the evening thinking about the kind of husband she hoped to find. She wanted someone who was
handsome, but witty and brilliant too. Most of all, she wanted a man who would love her with a strong and tender love. As the months went on and she still walked alone, she tried to be patient. For she knew it was better to be single than to join with the wrong partner, even if he was also going to the King’s City.

Now in my dream, I saw the other traveler, Peter, as he made his way to the King’s City. Unlike Celeste, he had come from an established family of travelers. As a child in Upright Village, his parents had faithfully taken him to the gathering hut every week, where the King’s songs were sung, though always off-tune and painfully slow. They dutifully read the guidebook to Peter so he could learn how important it was to obey all the King’s rules, in order that when the time came, he would be allowed into the King’s City. Peter’s parents never ventured on the King’s path themselves, for like the other residents in Upright Village they were certain it was more prudent to stay where they were and avoid the dangerous journey.

Because the village had been built as a temporary outpost for travelers and not as a permanent settlement, it was cramped and there was little to do for entertainment. Still, people kept busy guarding the village from attack and cleaning it scrupulously according to the King’s guidelines. Not a speck of dirt nor a single weed was allowed to remain, especially in their neighbor’s yards. The only real hardship was the lack of water. When the springs had dried up, many residents had moved to Slouching City. But the hardy travelers who remained took great pride
in what they suffered for the King.

When Peter was old enough to read the guidebook for himself, he became confused. There was much about the Servant King that he had never heard in all his years in Upright Village. He learned in the guidebook that the Servant had not come to punish people who failed to obey the King. Instead the Servant had come to give those who followed Him life to the full. The Servant promised that if someone believed in Him, streams of living water would flow from within. Peter’s heart began to burn with the hope that there was more to life than dour rule keeping. If he really belonged to the Servant, his true life was on the Servant’s path to the King’s City.

When he told his parents what he aimed to do, they were completely opposed.

“You can keep the King’s rules perfectly well here,” his father said.

“And you know the way to the King’s City is unsafe,” his mother said. “The roaring lion prowls around, looking for unsuspecting travelers to devour.”

“Don’t worry,” Peter said. “I’ve been lifting the weights of decrees and regulations to build my strength. I’m sure I will be able to fight off any dangers on the way.”

Peter packed his bag and started on the King’s path. But he soon realized the journey would be much more strenuous than he had anticipated because around his waist he wore heavy chains of debt. In the confines of Upright Village, the chains had never bothered him. But now as he crossed streams and climbed hills, it was very taxing to carry the weight. After three months, when
he stopped to see how far he had gone, he was discouraged to see that for all his effort, Upright Village was still not far behind.

Peter was no longer confident he could reach the King’s City. He could never pay what he owed the King and be freed of his chains. Desperate to go on, he searched in his pack for something to cut through his chains. However, he had left his tools behind. The only thing he could find was a file of good works. He sat down and started to file the chains, but after a week he had filed off just one chain. And by then, two more had been added to the length. Still he was determined to be free of his chains, and he doubled his efforts. If only he could work hard enough, he was sure he could get rid of them. He was still filing away when a wise old guide came upon him.

“Dear friend,” Freedom said to Peter. “You can file your chains until the world ends, but you’ll never get them off by your own effort. Don’t you know the song from the guidebook that tells how the Servant died to free the prisoners from their chains?”

“We never sang that in Upright Village.”

“From Upright Village, are you? Now I understand why you’re attempting such an impossible task. Only the knife of grace can cut through your chains.” Freedom held up a gleaming knife, and before Peter could say anything, he cut through one of Peter’s chains as if it was warm butter.

Peter stared in amazement at the broken chain at his feet. Then he fell to his knees and told the King he was sorry for every debt he owed. Freedom helped him cut through the rest of his chains and gave him the knife so he could use it on the journey.

“You mean my chains aren’t gone for good?”

“Until you reach the King’s City, new links will appear. But when they do, simply tell the King you are sorry and cut them off with His grace.”

Freed at last of his heavy chains, Peter was so elated, he started trotting down the path, shouting and kicking pebbles as he went.

As Peter walked on through the Low Country, he stopped at gathering huts and learned many new songs about the King. He also made friends with other travelers who also liked to take long hikes. Together they would go to the highest overlooks where they could look out at the way that lay ahead. However, one by one his friends began to find partners and then had little travelers, and they no longer had time to go exploring with him.

Peter had always thought it would be better to travel to the King’s City by himself because he was afraid he might choose the wrong person. Peter knew his parents had started out happy together, for there was a picture hanging in their living room that showed them looking lovingly at each other on their weaving day. But Peter could not remember a single occasion when he had seen them exchange smiles. Peter could also see that his friends had to wait for their partners to get ready every morning, a disagreeable thing for Peter since he liked to start walking as soon as the sun rose. Other friends couldn’t go as fast as they used to because now they were carrying their partner’s burdens. Peter didn’t want to be slowed down like that.

However, in spite of his qualms about having a partner, he became very lonely as he kept walking on the King’s path. He went
to talk with a guide for advice on how to choose a good partner.

“The journey is very long,” Discernment said, “so look for someone you can be friends with, who walks with a similar pace and a similar stride. Don’t worry about how pretty she is, for most of the journey you will be walking side by side, not looking at each other. When you find someone you like, take time to see if your attraction will mature into a deeper love or whether it will remain a pleasant friendship. And don’t forget that love is a choice, not a feeling. It’s important to choose your partner wisely, but it’s even more important to choose to love her every day.”

The night after he talked to Discernment, Peter sat alone by the campfire. As he looked up at the vast number of stars, he thought what a miracle it would be to find someone who matched him.

He continued his journey and consoled himself that he was free to come and go as he pleased; he didn’t have to worry about anyone else. But his loneliness remained. When he heard of a gathering for travelers in the Low Country, with amusements and singing and guides to teach about the King’s way, he decided to go. As he drew near, he could hear the sound of chatting and laughing, but when he arrived and saw the grove filled with travelers, he almost turned away, for he much preferred small, quiet gatherings. Then he noticed another traveler halfway across the grove, tilting her head as if trying to hear a song. He was about to walk over and introduce himself when she went up to the front of the gathering and began to sing a song about the Servant. Peter had never heard anyone sing so beautifully. He asked another traveler if he knew anything about the singer. “Her name is
Celeste,” the man said. “Fits her well with such a heavenly voice, doesn’t it?”

The next day the sun rose bright in the grove, and the travelers woke to the joyful racket of birds proclaiming the King’s glory. After a morning of talks and singing, the travelers broke into small groups in the afternoon, according to what they wanted to do. Some were going fishing in the river that flowed beyond the grove, some were going berry picking, and others were climbing to the top of the nearby peak that on a clear day gave a glimpse of the King’s City. Normally Peter would have gone on the hike, but he had climbed the peak on his way to the grove and when he saw Celeste join a group of travelers who were going to a nearby meadow to pick berries, he went too. Peter managed to end up walking beside Celeste, and as they went along he began to stare at her, for he saw she was swerving a bit as she walked.