Hinds' Feet on High Places (Giveaway)...And Some Precious God-Whispers of Truth

CONTEST CLOSED: WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON!

Many of you have probably heard of the classic, Hinds' Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard. Dinah always wanted me to read it. We would chat for hours about the spiritual lessons that God was teaching us and the mysterious ways that he would weave His truth and grace into the tapestry of our lives.

When I talked of the ways that God brings beauty from suffering and restoration out of brokenness, strength from weakness, and grace that is always sufficient...as I walked through grief and pain and found sweet healing, Dinah would say: "You really need to read Hinds' Feet on High Places".

Dinah went home to heaven this past February, and a month or two or three (I'm not really good with time these days) later, when I was in the thick of "the missing", my friend Joyce handed me the book. (Joyce is also one of our faithful, hard-working Comfort Bear ladies.) O.K....o.k., I conceded. Obviously this is a book God wanted me to read! I could just picture Dinah nudging the Lord..."Tell Joyce to have Kelly read this book...she really needs to read it." Now I'm not sure if that's how it works in heaven, but down here on Earth, Dinah's constant suggestions and persistence were quite effective. I wouldn't put it past her, that's for sure.

Anyway, I started to read the book, and sat astounded at the parallels in my Christian walk as I related to little Much-Afraid with all of her flaws and weaknesses as she struggled to resist her Fearful relatives. Some of the truths that spoke to my heart in this book are the very truths God has revealed to me over the years, as I walked my own path toward the high places, resisting the tools of The Enemy, desperate to know the kind of love that never leaves, embarking on the journey holding the Shepherd's hand, learning about acceptance with joy in my own desolate Valley of Loss, embracing the surrender that comes from having Sorrow and Suffering (who later became Peace and Joy) as companions, realizing that such journeys lead to the transformation from Much-Afraid to Grace and Glory.

All of the truths I have clung to and battled deception with...the very truths I have claimed as my own...truths that defined my walk over the past seventeen years of clinging to God... painted in word pictures by a woman years ago. Even the place I am in now of learning about the love that lays it all down...it's in there. I thought how silly to think that it is just my walk she is describing, even as the words resonated with my inner core. This is the walk for all who choose to follow Him. Our paths may not look exactly the same, but the truths...the lessons...are all the same. This is one of the most beautiful and perfect descriptions I have read of the ways God works in our lives. Of course, I'm sure it only scratches the surface of His deep mysterious ways.

I just want to share an excerpt that depicts the essence of the lessons that God has taught and is teaching me. I have spoken of this same truth over the course of my life, but never as eloquently or perfectly as the author shares in this incredible book:

"First," said she, "I learnt that I must accept with joy all that You allowed to happen to me on the way and everything to which the path led me! That I was never to try to evade it but to accept it and lay down my own will on the altar and say, "Behold me I am Thy handmaiden Acceptance-with-Joy."


"Then I learnt that I must bear all that others were allowed to do against me and to forgive with no trace of bitterness and to say to Thee, 'Behold me - I am Thy little handmaiden Bearing-with-Love', that I may receive  power to bring good out of this evil."


"The third thing that I learnt was that You, my Lord, never regarded me as I actually was, lame and weak and crooked and cowardly. You saw me as I would be when you brought me to the High Places, when it could be truly said, 'There is none that walks with such queenly ease, nor with such grace, as she.'
..."My Lord, I cannot tell You how greatly I want to regard others in the same way."

O.K....I just have to interrupt Much-Afraid's commentary for a moment and say...Do you realize that is the very essence of what God wants for us...to love others and see others as He does? He doesn't want us to look on them the way they are...but the way they will be when they are made perfect one day in heaven's glory, without the muck and sin in this world. Oh Lord, put that love into our hearts. O.K....back to Much-Afraid and what she learned. (Even though the author likes to say "learnt", which I must admit pains me to type.)

"The fourth thing," said she with a radiant face, "was really the first I learnt up here. Every circumstance in life, no matter how crooked and distorted and ugly it appears to be, if it is reacted to in love and forgiveness and obedience to Your will can be transformed...."


It may seem like I gave the most precious nuggets of this book away, but believe me when I say that you must take the entire journey of reading this book to fully grasp it's meaning...to fully experience the truth God is whispering about this journey.

For this is the story of every Christian's journey...the one we are meant to walk. The love God pours into our lives is meant to overflow into the lives of those around us. And, everything we experience has a purpose in leading us to being the person He created us to be.

Thank you, Dinah and thank you Joyce for sharing this book with me. I'm sure I should have read it years ago, but I was busy living it. I have ordered a few copies to share with others, because it really is a precious picture of the way God works in our hearts to transform us. Truly one of the best books I've ever read...and that's saying a lot!

So, of course, I want to give a few copies of this treasure away on this post. Just leave a comment to enter.


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In other news...for those praying for Tug, there is a VERY important update at the bottom of this post....click over and join us in rejoicing for all God is doing. And, please keep praying as the journey isn't over!! Thank you so much!