Blocking the Trail

Blocking the Trail
Monday, December 23, 2024 by CF Sherrow

Categories: Trauma and recovery

All right. You’ve taken inventory of your supplies. You know your destination. Time to start the journey.

Wait, what’s that? Why in the world is that gate closed? And locked? Someone doesn’t want you to pass.

I’ve seen this a few times: between the trailhead and the trail is some some of blockage, usually a gate that is closed between dusk and dawn. And it’s really annoying after all the prep you’ve done. It’s usually it’s a simple matter of safety – nobody wants to end up in the lake because it was too dark to see the trail.

But on the healing journey, it’s often an act of sabotage. And who is the saboteur? The enemy of our souls, who wants to keep us from being healed. And he doesn’t just block the trailhead to stop us. Once we get past the gate, we find boulders, wild animals, and pits in our way.

Those stumbling blocks can take the form of fatigue, discouragement, anger at God or your counselor, even anger at yourself. It can also take a deceptively good form such as feeling better and thinking your healing is complete.

Now is the time for patience, perseverence, and wisdom. A healing journey is not for the faint-hearted.