I am re-reading Bunyan’s classic, “the Pilgrim’s Progress” as part of a formation class. In one section, the main character Christian has to walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death and at the halfway point this is what the narrator says,
“halfway through the valley: he remembered also how he had already vanquished many a danger, and that the danger of going back might be much more than for to go forward. So he resolved to go on…”
While this is an allegory for our spiritual journey, it made me think about our sense of “progress”. If you are like me, you often feel like you are not as far as you should be or where you need to be and it can be debilitating.
But what if the “danger going back might be much more than going forward?”
Christian reflects back on the journey so far and remembers what he walked through, difficult as it was; he’s still there.
He can’t stop. He can’t stay.
Even when he thought death was certain, the only right next step was forward through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
As I think about my journey of life, through my career, through stomach cancer, I found the final line here powerful, “he resolved to go on”.
Take heart. In all your adversity, challenges, shortcomings and failures, you are still here. Keep moving forward.
The story we tell tomorrow about the season we are in today, is built on the resolve to keep moving forward now.
Steve Dang 