¹I wait quietly before God,for my victory comes from him. ²He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.

Psalm 62:1-2

Hurdles.

I never tried to run the hurdles in the years I experimented with track and field.

Sprints and relays were my go to events. Straight forward, simple, achievable — and all that without harming my body.

Never have I ever been fond of activities that put my body in danger of being scuffed, bruised, bent or broken. In volleyball practice, sliding across the floor to hit the ball was my least favorite drill. Hurdles seemed to be a close second.

There is nothing wrong with running sprints and nothing right about choosing hurdles. It’s my reason that needs examining. I didn’t want to run hurdles because they didn’t seem safe. In short, they seemed too hard.

I didn’t consider that hurdles were a process, something that needed to be learned and explored. The coach provided necessary instruction on form, ensuring proper technique before allowing an individual to compete in the event. I didn’t get that far — I just didn’t want to do it.

Today I was sharing with a friend some personal struggles of the last few months. I finished by saying I was glad God is gracious, kind and slow to anger. Moving on is difficult, uncertain, dangerous. When I want life to be linear, straightforward, dependable, predictable — like a sprint — it seems more like hurdles — short sprints and then an obstacle.

I’m grateful for the consistency of God’s character. He waits for me to be ready to ask hard questions and then is faithful to carefully instruct me in the next steps of healing and wholeness.

Perhaps you, too, face obstacles and hurdles. Join me as I wait patiently for God to instruct me in this adventure of clearing hurdles and learning to use obstacles as stepping stones across rivers of adversity.

⁵Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. ⁶He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.

Psalm 62:5-6