I attended a silent retreat at Mepkin Abbey in Monk’s Corner, SC for three days to disconnect from electronics and society in general so that I could decompress—no phone, no wireless, no talking, just quiet time in solitude with nature. The abbey is located on over 1,000 acres in an old plantation from the 1800s. Its beauty is timeless and indescribable.
Among the gardens is a huge labyrinth of wildflowers and plants. The directions on the sign ask that you pace slowly through the maze and notice what thoughts bubble up. I embraced this meditative exercise and entered the maze.
As I traversed the path, I noticed that the journey through this labyrinth was a metaphor for my personal journey the past few years fighting for election integrity.
I started out mindfully placing each step on the grass but suddenly thick brush would encroach the path requiring more effort on my part. In some areas, I had to move obstructive branches out of the way to move forward or take high steps to move across them. At times I wondered if I was moving in the right direction, or alternatively, if I was retracing the same path I had already traveled. There was a sudden sense of being lost and disoriented.
At one point I became impatient picking up the pace wondering how much longer this task would take. It seemed longer than I had bargained for and I wondered if it was worth the effort. Frustration had set in. And then fear. What if there were snakes in the grasses here? Or ticks?
I noticed the irony of the situation and the parallels to my life and I started to laugh. This exercise that was meant to be restorative was showing me the many sides of my personality and journey.
The frustration and fear melted into humor. If I believed that there would be snakes and other bugs that could hurt me, I might create that reality, so I cleared those thoughts from my mind as I tugged the long blades of grass out of my way.
After what seemed like forever but was probably only about 15 to 20 minutes I wanted to give up. This was taking too long and I couldn’t seem to find out where the path ultimately led to the center.
I decided to leave the labyrinth to by jumping over the border that I could reassess the map and get an overhead view. I needed the big picture perspective. What I realized was that I had jumped out just steps before I was going to reach the center. Ugh! So back I went to where I had jumped out and finished, finally reaching the center which had a clearing and a few benches. I made it.
How often do we become impatient during our journey of truth? We all want things to happen our way and on our timeline. But if we give up, we may miss a huge breakthrough just around the corner. The labyrinth of life is not our design, but God’s. Only He knows the path. We need to trust in Him and cultivate faith, patience, fortitude, and a good sense of humor if we want to make it to the finish line.
Never give up! God has the plan and He wins.