Grace set out in search of something, but it was nothing she had lost. What then? She did not know, but she was eager for the venture. Before long, she met a woman along the way who was searching for something as well. The two women exchanged names and became instant friends. Grace and Merci walked together along a winding path chatting casually when Grace spied a dust-covered book lying half-buried in the ground. What in the world? “Letters from the Past,” she read, brushing away the dirt.
Grace fanned through the book and was astonished to see that each of the letters in the book was addressed to her. Then, Merci paged through it and was equally surprised to see her name as the recipient of letters personally written and signed by various women from long, long ago. How can this be? Still puzzled, she handed the book to Grace and Grace tucked the book into her backpack.
Their path took them along a raging river. Fear and anxiety gripped Merci. “That’s me every day of my life. Always rushing like I’m trying to escape,” Merci hollered above the roar of the river. Her fingers curled themselves tightly into her palms. “What if the river overtakes us?” she cried out, as panic rose up in her chest.
“We’ll stay on the path,” Grace shouted. “It’ll be okay.” They locked arms and hurried along. Merci stumbled over something. She stooped down and picked up another book! “Praying the Scriptures,” it read. She flipped through it and saw a section of Prayers for Anxiety and Fear. “Hmm,” she sighed, drawing the corner of her lower lip between her teeth. She put the book into her backpack.
Soon they came to a deep, wide valley. The path led them down a steep, rocky and weed-covered embankment. The two women looked at each other. Merci’s brows knit together with great concern. She looked around.
“There’s no other way, but to go through it,” Grace said. She took the lead. Merci hesitated. Grace looked at her new friend but said nothing. Merci swallowed hard and took the first step down the steep grade, sending a cascade of stones tumbling ahead of them.
A peculiar darkness surrounded them as they picked their way through the floor of the valley. “This is depressing,” Merci said of the all-too-familiar feeling enveloping her. The two friends trampled on in eerie silence. Hunger and thirst, like two unwanted companions, joined the two women.
After some time in the dark valley, Merci spotted a bright, glistening object high up the opposite valley wall. Hope began to soar as they scrambled and clawed their way towards the shining objerct.
When they finally reached the other side, they stared at another book that appeared to have bright light emanating from inside its pages. Merci was the first to pick it up.
To be continued next week.