Hinds' Feet

Mary had run out of people to share her marvellous experience: seeing those beautiful deer that came so quickly and went just as speedily up the side of the ridge. Despite this the memory of the animals stayed fresh in her mind and were there in her thoughts the next morning in prayer. She decided to check out the word “deer” in her concordance and found another passage besides the one that had come to her the day before. This new scripture was found in both 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18: “He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.” Intrigued and curious about this passage Mary read a few more Bible translations to see how others had interpreted it.
It was the last translation she looked at that supplied a note of recognition to the verse. This passage in the King James Version was all too familiar. It deciphered the original text this way: “He makes my feet like hind’s feet: and setteth me upon high places”. Mary had read a book years and years ago by Hannah Hurnard entitled Hinds Feet on High Places. It was a metaphor for the story of the Christian walk showing the struggle of the main character, Much Afraid, as she journeyed through life and up a mountain of troubles.
Mary had identified with this story in her past life as she struggled through a tough marriage and her personal struggles with being a Christian. When Mary's first marriage ended and she had finished university she had gone to Ireland to celebrate. While there she found herself driving through the Connemara Mountains. She saw their beauty and greenness from around the lower edges and watched sheep and goats graze upon its emerald loveliness. At the time she saw herself having arrived at this peaceful place in the valley accomplishing the feat of overcoming the obstacles within the first half of her life. She had climbed her mountain and with God’s help had arrived.
However, before she left Ireland she stayed at a beautiful hotel in the north west of the island. Looking out her bedroom window was the view of the tallest and most daunting mountain she ever saw. It stood majestically in the clouds, so it seemed as the early morning mist shrouded it in mystery. While she looked upon this vision God spoke in her heart and told her this was the next mountain in her journey, the next challenge of her life.
As Mary thought back to that day she remembered how fearful she was of taking upon herself this confrontation. She had left that place and the Green Isle trying to forget what she saw and what God said to her. Today she realized that she was about to face that second half of her life journey and that mountain. Yesterday’s view of the hinds was a reminder that as God was with her through her past trials He would be with her no matter what she faced in her future.
The scriptures before her comforted her that God was her Rock and Refuge. This God would be her teacher teaching her “arms to wars” or as another translation spoke training her “hands for battle”. The whole passage was an encouragement that Mary was not only being led by the Holy Spirit for what faced her but that God would be with her during this battle.
Mary was encouraged because she recognized what the next challenge was: it was what she had run from all these years; dealing with the past rejection by the Church. She knew all her life it would come to this day. From her professional experience Mary was aware that God used present situations to heal past wounds. Mary had never truly been healed of the childhood rejection of the black hooded nun grabbing her and preventing her from receiving her First Communion. Oh yes, she had gone for many, many prayers but sometimes, as in this situation, some healing had to take place in re-experiencing the past through the present situation which acted like a trigger to the past incident. That thought did not excite Mary.
As Mary recalled the Connemara Mountains and the second mountain peek she realized how much bigger and more intimidating the later was. This did not excite Mary either. She found within herself the fearful, familiar character, Much Afraid, of the Hurnard book, coming to life again. However, Mary had been through a lot all these years and God had been with her. As God had been with her so He would be with her again.
He would make her feet as swift as the deer she watched yesterday that clipped their way up the hills. She would stand on the heights someday, she knew it. She would see God’s promise of scripture come true that God would “stoop down to make [her] great. “
This was all in the future, in her New Year. This is what faced her but she was not alone. God was with her and promised He would get her there: he was making her “feet like hind’s feet” and God would “enable [her] stand on those “heights”.Looking out her window that day Mary thought about the last seven years living in this very, very flat county. It had been a land of lack but God had provided through those years and Mary and Robin had grown closer together to each other and God during this time. It was a good time. But God was about to change all that and lead Mary and Robin someplace else. Perhaps the time of financial difficulty was about to end but in its place God was putting a new hurtle. Mary didn’t think both would exist side by side because she knew God never gave you more than you could handle. So Mary looked forward to the New Year and saying goodbye to her debt. However, the new hump she would have to get over was far greater than anything she had faced.
Mary considered the deer she had seen yesterday once again. The young stags had appeared so strong and appeared to climb the ridge with such ease. Perhaps that is what it was to have feet like hinds’ feet: one was enabled to face and bound through trials and climb the mountains of difficulties with victory and triumph.
As Mary considered this thought she realized God’s answer to her prayer for Christmas, her Christmas present to know God’s will for her life had just expanded. Mary now knew she would be moving on in the famine just like those in history who travelled around looking for food. She and Robin would be moving to Windsor. There God said her ministry was to bring good news to the afflicted and poor and it seemed now this would all be done in the context of the church and under their umbrella. This later truth meant dealing with those in charge. However, despite Mary having a hard time seeing the gift in this she knew she had asked God’s will. God’s will was not only for her to work with and through the church to bring good news to the poor. God was indicating in the process Mary would be facing the challenge of her life: to face an old wound that hadn’t been totally healed.
However, God‘s will for her was not without His love and support. You see in the last couple of days God was indicating He would lead her; His gift to her included strength like that of the doe and an ability to climb every mountain. Her hind’s feet would get her to those high places. Mary felt no matter how long it took it was the last leg of her journey. But no matter what: God was with them on this mountain climb and someday would stand on the heights with her. This was for sure, dear reader, this was for sure!