It was an amazing Costa Rican day. I awoke about 4:30 a.m. to the sound of thunder in the distance. I knew the rain was coming – and it was going to be a good one. Then another sound that I hoped was an animal – and later learned was howler monkeys. There I was – so comfortable in a strange bed – totally relaxed as the monkeys howled and the thunder rolled and the rain poured in. As we had been warned, it was a torrential rain – but it lasted only a short time.

     In that state of calm and peace, I was off for some café con leche before heading out on a river cruise. A great way to start today – cruising the river and canals, seeing all kinds of flora and fauna; wildlife! We saw some really great things – caiman up close – probably a once in a lifetime. Iguanas and Basilica “Jesus Christ” lizards – so nicknamed because they run on top of the water – became almost a common site. We returned from our cruise to breakfast and a calm suggestion that we should take a “light” nature walk on the grounds. They suggested rubber boots – now known as a warning sign. Two of us couldn’t wear them because there were none that fit. But the guide said sandals were ok – they would just get a little dirty.

     No problem, right?

     My shoes clean up easily.

     It started out all nice and easy. Concrete paths and low hanging bridges. Then the adventure began. Mud. Really thick, wet, coarse, sticky mud. No way to move forward without a walking stick mud. But we were doing good.

     Until…..

     The first time my foot sank in. The combination of mud in my sandals and mud all over my feet created a horrific situation. The steps forward were no longer the challenge. It was keeping my feet in my shoes. The step itself was not bad, but I was growing fatigued and in pain just trying to keep the shoes on.

     What did I learn from the “light” nature hike where my shoes got “just a little dirty”?

     First, things are rarely what they seem at the beginning – often the storm is brewing just behind the happy intro. How many times in my life have I just gotten completely complacent about my place in life because it seemed happy and good? “I don’t need to go deeper in my faith, seriously – life is perfect right where I am”. “I don’t need to have more of a prayer life, things are good, nothing to pray for”. Only to be completely unready for the huge mud pit that lies ahead. I forget I should go deeper in my faith so I could stand stronger in the coming mud. I forget that I should always be talking to God so that when the mud comes, He and I already have an open line of communication.

     Instead, the mud comes and I am caught unprepared and I am unable to walk forward without pain and fatigue.

Exodus 33:14 “The Lord replied, ‘my presence will go with you, and I will give you rest'”.

Psalm 62:1-2 “Truly my soul finds rest in God, my salvation comes from Him. Truly He is my rock and my salvation, He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”

Psalm 91:14-16 “‘Because he loves me’, says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him, I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him, I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver and honor him and show him my salvation.'”

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways submit to him, and He will make your paths straight.”

     Someone in our group later asked – when we got to that first spot of mud why didn’t we just turn back? Great question. Did we believe it was really only going to be that one small section? We had already had a torrential downpour that day, that should have been a warning that it was only going to get worse. Were we just so comfortable from those easy first steps that we just didn’t realize how deep the mud we were walking into really was. How many times in my life have I let myself get so far into the place I really shouldn’t be in just because I was in complete denial that the mud around me was bad and only going to get worse.

     And so we ventured forward.

     Each step for me excruciatingly high pain and effort just to stay in the shoes. Until finally I gave up.

     Lesson 2!

     Sometimes you just have to ditch the shoes.

     See it wasn’t actually the mud that was holding me back. I mean, that was pretty tough – but really the shoes were the problem.

     What are the shoes in your life? Self-esteem issues, addictions, greed, guilt… we all have shoes that try to take us down in the mud. Shoes that try to sink us further in, to twist our ankles. So we are physically unable to get out.

Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery”.

Colossians 3:5 “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry”

1 John 2:16 “For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world”.

     I ditched the shoes and immediately my walk was easier. Not easy, but easier. It was me and the steps God always intended me to take – no more fighting for my life on my own after every step.

     It was me and God without interference.

     And forward I moved.

     Happy to say – with a little help from my friends (because we all need that in every journey – especially when the mud fights us) I survived. Fairly unharmed, a little dirty, a bit wiser, a little less happy with what used to be one of my favorite pairs of shoes. But all in all, closer to God and happy that I left some junk back there in the mud.

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us and that sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”