If we are to be successful and happy in life we need to be in step with life. I have tried to do most things in life but there is one thing that I have yet to master and that is how to dance without standing on everyone’s toes. Somehow, I just don’t seem to catch the rhythm and I miss the beat. There is a rhythm in life. The tides ebb and flow. The seasons come and go. Everywhere there is either movement forwards or backwards. We can also see this rhythm in health of body and mind. We all experience unforgettable days as well as days of drab monotony. This rhythm also pervades the soul. There is function there; now the mountain top and again the valley. At first, we are alarmed by these experiences. When we are in the valley we are afraid that we have lost our spiritual vision. It is easy to become panic-stricken and try to convince ourselves that the vision on the mountain was just a delusion. People never lose their faith on the mountain peaks but very often find their faith being tested in the valley. If only we realised it, that God is in the valley as much as on the heights. We have to learn to walk, not by sight but by faith. If when the difficult days come we keep our faith fanned to a flame no harm will come to us. If, on the contrary, we begin to tire of watching for the morning, and grow careless about our prayers and our self-discipline, we shall find it easy to lose faith altogether. There are days when the best we seem able to do is to hang on bravely. As we are faithful, these days become less troublesome and less frequent. Faith is meant not primarily for easy days but for difficult days. Sometimes Christ has to leave us seemingly alone for a while. When He returns He asks, “Could you not watch with me for one little hour?"
John.
