Chutes, But No Ladders

 

I dreamed that I was staying in a large city where many themed resort hotels were close together. I thought it would be an interesting outing to travel from one to the next and to explore the sights in each hotel’s lobby and common areas.

There was a tram departing from outside the hotel where I was staying, so I hopped aboard and got off at the next stop, which appeared to be a flight-themed hotel. I entered what seemed to be an airline cabin, with typical passenger seats. As the “plane” took off, I realized that there was no lift-off, only a side-to-side lurching as the cabin sped along a serpentine track.

Once we had stopped, I got out and was surprised to find myself on the platform of what appeared to be an amusement park ride, with open-sided kiddie cars strung together. There was no way back to the plane and no other way off the platform, so I scrunched into one of the cars and grabbed onto the rail just in time as it launched into motion.

After a very short horizontal distance, the ride plunged downward at breakneck speed, so fast that the pit of my stomach jammed into my throat. Finally it stopped, slamming me forward, and I doubled over for a moment before I could stagger to my feet and out of the car.

Breathless and shaking, I realized I had been gone from the hotel way too long and needed to return as soon as possible. But there seemed to be no options other than to get back in another kiddie car, which also appeared to be on a steep track even further downward and away from the hotel. There were no escalators, elevators, or even stairways to return to the higher level where I had left my hotel.

I was relieved to see a uniformed man whom I assumed to be the transit police.

“Is this the subway?” I asked, pointing to the kiddie car, then realized how ridiculous that sounded.

He rolled his eyes, then feigned concern that only came across as patronizing condescension.

“Ma’am, where is it that you want to go?”

“Back to my hotel.”

“Which one?”

I realized in horror that I had no clue about the name of the hotel where I had been staying. He rattled off a list of names, none of which sounded familiar, until he finally suggested “Blue Hotel.”

“That’s it!” I exclaimed. “How do I get there?”

But he only shrugged his shoulders and bustled away, leaving me to awaken in a panic.

As I considered the meaning of the dream, I remembered a trip to Las Vegas during which my husband and I enjoyed taking the monorail from one hotel to the next and walking around each hotel, admiring the unique décor, architecture, attractions and shopping of each one. We had joked that it was like walking around the world, traveling from New York, to Paris, to Venice (Bellagio), and ancient Rome (Caesar’s Palace), all in a single day.

But we knew that we were still in Las Vegas and hadn’t really gone anywhere, for each hotel was a cleverly staged illusion to lure the visitor (and potential gambler) to spend more time there. For the same reason, there are no clocks or even windows within these hotels, so that the gambler loses contact with time and even with reality as he keeps trying to beat the house.

As born-again Christians (John 3:3-8) who have been saved by trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6), we must be careful not to be distracted by earthly, temporal things and thereby lose sight of our eternal destiny (Colossians 3:1-2).

My husband and I don’t gamble, and there was nothing wrong in enjoying the beautiful, lavish and picturesque interiors of the hotels we visited, but if we had lingered too long, it might have become a distraction from our real purpose for going to Las Vegas, which was to share our dance ministry at a hotel where we had been invited to perform.

Leaving the hotel in the dream proved to be disastrous, as each segment of the bone-rattling journey brought me further away from where I needed to be, to the point that I felt I could not return. Each conveyance was merely an imitation of true forms of transportation. These reminded me of the train in that famous episode of “Twilight Zone” that always circled back to where it began, preventing the protagonists from escaping, for it was merely a toy in a dollhouse village owned by a giant child.

In the board game, “Chutes and Ladders,” players advance up the ladders based on the roll of the dice, but then without warning may slide far down a chute. In the dream I was actually trying to return to my starting point, but each ride carried me not only further away, but also further down. The ride was deceptively level at the beginning, then suddenly vanished down a dangerous precipice, reminding me that we are most likely to slip and fall when we are prideful of our good standing (Proverbs 16:18; 1 Corinthians 10:12).

Ultimately I was so far away that I no longer even remembered the name of the place where I was staying. The world and its power structure are of no help in returning us to God’s plan for us (Matthew 6:24), as was evident in the dream by the lack of any way to travel upward, and the indifference of the transit policeman.

On our Christian journey to the mountaintop of heavenly rewards, we sometimes fall backward and slide down, but the climb is always still there, waiting for us to resume it.  Thankfully, our brothers and sisters in Christ can help us struggle to our feet, and God Himself is there with outstretched arms, just waiting for us to take the first step (Ecclesiastes 4:9; Proverbs 24:16; Psalm 136:12; Galatians 6:1).

The hotel where I started my dream journey was called the Blue Hotel, the color perhaps signifying royal garments of the priesthood and furnishings of God’s temple (Exodus 26-28; 35-39; Numbers 4,15; etc.). These may symbolize the heavenly places where we are seated in Christ even while walking this earth (Ephesians 1:3; 2:6).

In common parlance, the phrase “blue skies” refers to smooth sailing and good times without interference from storms. As Christians, our sure hope (Hebrews 6:19) in eternal life in Heaven gives us spiritual blue skies, namely the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7) and joy in His salvation (Psalm 21:1; Isaiah 61:10).

Yet the word “blue” can also mean sad or depressed, for even as Christians we are not immune from sorrow. Even Christ Himself was a man of sorrows, well acquainted by grief, yet by His stripes, or suffering, we are healed (Isaiah 53:3-5). The only other Scripture reference to “blue” is in Proverbs 3:20:

The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.

This verse is a sober reminder that when we stray, our loving Father God will chastise us, sometimes through His still, small voice (1 Kings 19:12), but with scourging or physical pain if the spoken Word is ineffective (Hebrews 12:6).

May we set our affection and sights on heavenly things above and not be brought down by the things of this world! May we be vigilant to hear and do the will of our Father, ever climbing upward until He takes us home, and seeking His strength and guidance when our errors bring us to the pit of the valley!      

© 2019 Laurie Collett 

Reposted from the archives

Try, Try Again

 

Photo by Tripjodi 2011

As the old adage goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”

That came to mind as my husband Richard and I, at our relatively advanced stage of life, attempted our first foray into kayaking. Our son and daughter-in-law had enjoyed it during their recent stay at the beach, and we had found a great sale on an inflatable kayak, so what could possibly go wrong?

Day 1: Having pumped up the questionably seaworthy, bright yellow vessel, Richard christened it the “Banana Boat.”  We dragged it over to the dock, but the lagoon level was considerably below it, and Richard was leery of lowering himself into the seemingly unstable craft. And he fretted over the barnacles he believed were all along the dock’s underwater supports, which could easily jab a hole into the kayak, or even worse, our feet.

So we hoisted it to our shoulders, carried it across the road, over the footbridge to the Gulf of Mexico, and some distance down the beach, away from prying eyes of sunbathers who might find our inexperience a fruitful source for jokes at our expense. All this carrying turned out to be more difficult than expected while we were juggling paddles and encumbered in ill-fitting life vests .

Undeterred, we positioned the kayak parallel to the shore, tentatively got in the shallow water, and attempted to push off with the paddles, only to find that the rudder beneath the boat was stuck in the sand! After many futile attempts to get afloat, we silently braved the “walk of shame” back to the shed, where we stored the kayak for another, hopefully better time.

 

Day 2: At least now we knew to bypass the dock/lagoon misadventure and headed directly to the Gulf, Banana Boat aloft on our shoulders. It seemed the perfect day for kayaking – sunny, not too warm, calm currents. Or so we thought. We actually got afloat, now having learned to embark in slightly deeper water, and to turn the kayak perpendicular to the shore once we got in. But Richard had trouble paddling, as the inflatable seat did not support his back sufficiently for him to maintain an upright position.

After we travelled only about 6 feet, the once calm waves seemed to roughen and crest, threatening our journey. So we turned back to shore, where a wave crashed over the side before we could get out, splashing our faces and filling up the kayak. We made a hasty retreat on our knees before we could stand up, only to repeat the “walk of shame” past the beachcombers.

 

Day 3: Richard had found a discarded circular Styrofoam cooler – just the right size, shape and lightness to insert behind his seat so he could row upright.  Perfect weather once again, with the sea waters calm as silk, bordered in frothy, lacy foam along the shoreline. We embarked without incident and headed out to sea! But our pride deflated a little when a middle-aged woman passing by called out nervously, “Would you like me to give you a push?”

“No, we’re good, thanks!” Richard replied. And we were! Miraculously, with no effort at all, we paddled out to a suitable depth where the surf was even calmer, and turned Banana Boat 90 degrees so we could row along the coastline.

What an amazing new perspective that gave us! We had walked by the beach cottages and enjoyed the coastline before, but now we could take it all in at once and felt more a part of it, warmed by the sun sparkling on the ocean yet cooled by the gentle breeze, moved by it as if we were osprey soaring on the wind.

Suddenly we spotted a black fin ahead and to the left of us. Thankfully, this was a dolphin and not a shark! We stopped rowing in amazement, savoring the moment, as not 6 feet away from us a pair of dolphins surfaced and began frolicking around us, emerging and submerging beneath the waves.

Once they were gone, we rowed on for a bit, then uneventfully returned to shore, thanking God that we had persevered long enough to experience this awe-inspiring communion with His creation!

 

It made me think of my spiritual and prayer life, how even when I seem to approach quiet time with the right intentions, the peace I crave eludes me. Satan knows that once believers are saved by trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6), then prayer becomes one of the most powerful weapons in our spiritual arsenal (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

God can accomplish far more through His saints as they pray than we can by attempting to fight the enemy in our own flesh, for without Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). We are to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), prayerfully put on each piece of God’s armor (Ephesians 6:18), and be anxious about nothing, for we can bring all our prayer requests to the Lord (Philippians 4:6), Who knows what we need before we even ask Him (Matthew 6:8,32; 7:11).

Jesus Himself habitually began the day in prayer, coming away to a desert place (Luke 4:42; 9:10), where He drew the strength, peace and wisdom to accomplish His Father’s will (Luke 22:42). He was perfect, tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15), so I imagine He overcame the distractions and obstacles that so often hinder my prayer life.

Some days I intend to pray and yet can’t even seem to find a suitable place or time, like the difficulty we encountered on Day 1 of kayaking when we couldn’t even get afloat. Other days I plunge into prayer, yet soon find myself washed up on the shore of daily life, battered by the waves of life’s real and imagined crises, as on Day 2 when our sea cruise ended abruptly before it even began.

Yet we must not give up on our prayer life. If we try, try again, we will soon find that we need do nothing to work toward the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7), the reassurance that God is faithful (Revelation 3:14) and keeps all His promises (Titus 1:2), and the joy of His salvation (Psalm 51:12), for He does it all. If we surrender to His will and way, He will bear us aloft on the current of His Spirit to reach heavenly places with Him (Ephesians 2:6).

May we not grow discouraged in prayer (Galatians 6:9), but earnestly seek His face (1 Chronicles 16:11; 2 Chronicles 7:14) and listen for His voice for the blessings and guidance we need (1 Kings 19:12). He desires fellowship with His children (1 Corinthians 1:9), and if we try, try again to know Him better, He will faithfully reward us by revealing Himself, His wisdom, and His plan for our life (Jeremiah 29:13; Deuteronomy 4:29; Proverbs 8:17; Matthew 7:7-8).

In these divine appointments, we need not try at all, for Christ has done it all through His finished work on the cross (John 19:30; Hebrews 12:2). We can be confident that once He has started a good work in us, He will bring it to fruition (Philippians 1:6) as we yield to Him!  

© 2021 Laurie Collett

Two Butterflies

Photo by SFAJane 2010

One lovely morning, my husband Richard was reading aloud from our daily devotionals as we sipped coffee on our lanai overlooking the woods.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a pale gold butterfly, delicately traced with black veining and borders, bejeweled with dots of sapphire and ruby. It drifted past my gaze and then soared upward on the breeze.

“Look!” I exclaimed. “A beautiful butterfly!”

“That?” Richard asked doubtfully, pointing at what appeared to be a dried leaf suspended from a twig.

I realized that the swallowtail butterfly I had spotted was no longer in our field of vision, apparently having caught a wind current lifting it gently toward the heavens before Richard could see it. What he was viewing was indeed a butterfly, albeit a dark, shriveled creature suspended on a nearby bush. Was it dead?

It was hanging from a twig, caught in thin strands of silk. We couldn’t see a fully formed web, so we weren’t sure if it was trapped by a spider beyond our view, or if it was a newborn butterfly just having emerged from its chrysalis. At least now there were signs of life – faint, intermittent pulsating of its wings. Was it in the throes of death, or struggling for new life?

Intermittent glances at the butterfly as we continued our readings did not shed light on the situation, but finally, after a few arduous beats of its wings, it flew away! I imagined that perhaps it had joined the butterfly I had seen earlier, both elevated to lofty heights, together enjoying the freedom of flight.

Far from coincidentally, our selection of morning readings had touched on being elevated to heavenly places with Christ (Ephesians 1:3; 2:6), on being born again (John 3:3-8), and on the dangers of falling prey to subtle sins that can ensnare us and keep us from soaring upward with our Lord and Savior (Hebrews 12:1).

To me, the first butterfly epitomized the joy, beauty and liberty of salvation (Psalm 21:1; 35:9) through trusting in Jesus Christ, Son of God Who died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). When we are saved and in His perfect will, the Holy Spirit empowers us to soar with Him on the heavenly mission He has designed specifically for us (Ephesians 2:10).

We are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) in all details, and God created the human eye to be attracted to movement, pattern and color. Just as I quickly noticed and was uplifted by the colorful butterfly darting past me, so our spirits are attracted to the believer who is not only saved, but who is fulfilling God’s perfect plan for their life (Jeremiah 29:11). There is an inner beauty, purpose, and freedom in such a soul that acts as a beacon to all who are blessed to encounter them (Matthew 5:14-16).

But the soaring butterfly was once a lowly caterpillar, and the born-again believer emerged from a despairing sinner realizing their need of a Savior. The encumbered butterfly, which could have been in the final stages of metamorphosis, reminded me that only the Spirit can lift the sinner from the pain and darkness in the pit of sin to the healing and light of salvation (Psalm 30:3; 40:2; 143:7).

Like metamorphosis, the process of salvation is not instantaneous or painless. It occurs over time as the sinner hears the Word (Romans 10:14) and is convicted of his own sin, lack of merit, and inability to save himself from the eternal punishment in hell that his sins deserve (Ephesians 2:8-9). Meanwhile, the Spirit works in the heart to save him through processes unknown to us (Ecclesiastes 11:5).

Or was the second butterfly caught in a spider’s web, struggling against the odds to be set free? Even once we are saved, we can easily fall prey to Satan’s traps and to the sins that so easily entangle us (Hebrews 12:1). On casual glance, these may seem innocent enough, and even attractive, like silky strands of web shimmering in the sunlight. But if we let down our guard, we are so easily trapped (1 Peter 5:8), not to lose our salvation, but to lose the joy and freedom of fulfilling God’s purpose for us.

Thankfully, there can be release and restoration, just as there was for the butterfly that may have been freed from the spider’s web. If we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us (1 John 1:9) and will renew our fellowship with Him, so that we can wait upon Him to lift us up as on eagle’s wings! (Isaiah 40:31)

May we soar freely with Him, born again as the caterpillar to new life as the butterfly, and restored to heavenly places when He forgives us of our confessed sins! 

© 2017 Laurie Collett

Try, Try Again

Photo by Tripjodi 2011

As the old adage goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”

That came to mind as my husband Richard and I, at our relatively advanced stage of life, attempted our first foray into kayaking. Our son and daughter-in-law had enjoyed it during their recent stay at the beach, and we had found a great sale on an inflatable kayak, so what could possibly go wrong?

Day 1: Having pumped up the questionably seaworthy, bright yellow vessel, Richard christened it the “Banana Boat.”  We dragged it over to the dock, but the lagoon level was considerably below it, and Richard was leery of lowering himself into the seemingly unstable craft. And he fretted over the barnacles he believed were all along the dock’s underwater supports, which could easily jab a hole into the kayak, or even worse, our feet.

So we hoisted it to our shoulders, carried it across the road, over the footbridge to the Gulf of Mexico, and some distance down the beach, away from prying eyes of sunbathers who might find our inexperience a fruitful source for jokes at our expense. All this carrying turned out to be more difficult than expected while we were encumbered in ill-fitting life vests and juggling paddles.

Undeterred, we positioned the kayak parallel to the shore, tentatively got in the shallow water, and attempted to push off with the paddles, only to find that the rudder beneath the boat was stuck in the sand! After many futile attempts to get afloat, we silently braved the “walk of shame” back to the shed, where we stored the kayak for another, hopefully better time.

 

Day 2: At least now we knew to bypass the dock/lagoon misadventure and headed directly to the Gulf, Banana Boat aloft on our shoulders. It seemed the perfect day for kayaking – sunny, not too warm, calm currents. Or so we thought. We actually got afloat, now having learned to embark in slightly deeper water, and to turn the kayak perpendicular to the shore once we got in. But Richard had trouble paddling, as the inflatable seat did not support his back sufficiently for him to maintain an upright position.

After we travelled only about 6 feet, the once calm waves seemed to roughen and crest, threatening our journey. So we turned back to shore, where a wave crashed over the side before we could get out, splashing our faces and filling up the kayak. We made a hasty retreat on our knees before we could stand up, only to repeat the “walk of shame” past the beachcombers.

 

Day 3: Richard had found a discarded circular Styrofoam cooler – just the right size, shape and lightness to insert behind his seat so he could row upright.  Perfect weather once again, with the sea waters calm as silk, bordered in frothy, lacy foam along the shoreline. We embarked without incident and headed out to sea! But our pride deflated a little when a middle-aged woman passing by called out nervously, “Would you like me to give you a push?”

“No, we’re good, thanks!” Richard replied. And we were! Miraculously, with no effort at all, we paddled out to a suitable depth where the surf was even calmer, and turned Banana Boat 90 degrees so we could row along the coastline.

What an amazing new perspective that gave us! We had walked by the beach cottages and enjoyed the coastline before, but now we could take it all in at once and felt more a part of it, warmed by the sun sparkling on the ocean yet cooled by the gentle breeze, moved by it as if we were osprey soaring on the wind.

Suddenly we spotted a black fin ahead and to the left of us. Thankfully, this was a dolphin and not a shark! We stopped rowing in amazement, savoring the moment, as not 6 feet away from us a pair of dolphins surfaced and began frolicking around us, emerging and submerging beneath the waves.

Once they were gone, we rowed on for a bit, then uneventfully returned to shore, thanking God that we had persevered long enough to experience this awe-inspiring communion with His creation!

 

It made me think of my spiritual and prayer life, how even when I seem to approach quiet time with the right intentions, the peace I crave eludes me. Satan knows that once believers are saved by trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6), that prayer is one of the most powerful weapons in our spiritual arsenal (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

God can accomplish far more through His saints as they pray than we can by attempting to fight the enemy in our own flesh, for without Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). We are to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), prayerfully put on each piece of God’s armor (Ephesians 6:18), and be anxious about nothing, for we can bring all our prayer requests to the Lord (Philippians 4:6), Who knows what we need before we even ask Him (Matthew 6:8,32; 7:11).

Jesus Himself habitually began the day in prayer, coming away to a desert place (Luke 4:42; 9:10), where He drew the strength, peace and wisdom to accomplish His Father’s will (Luke 22:42). He was perfect, tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15), so I imagine He overcame the distractions and obstacles that so often hinder my prayer life.

Some days I intend to pray and yet can’t even seem to find a suitable place or time, like the difficulty we encountered on Day 1 when we couldn’t even get afloat. Other days I plunge into prayer, yet soon find myself washed up on the shore of daily life, battered by the waves of life’s real and imagined crises, as on Day 2 when our sea cruise ended abruptly before it even began.

Yet we must not give up on our prayer life. If we try, try again, we will soon find that we need do nothing to work toward the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7), the reassurance that God is faithful (Revelation 3:14) and keeps all His promises (Titus 1:2), and the joy of His salvation (Psalm 51:12), for He does it all. If we surrender to His will and way, He will bear us aloft on the current of His Spirit to reach heavenly places with Him (Ephesians 2:6).

May we not grow discouraged in prayer (Galatians 6:9), but earnestly seek His face (1 Chronicles 16:11; 2 Chronicles 7:14) and listen for His voice for the blessings and guidance we need (1 Kings 19:12). He desires fellowship with His children (1 Corinthians 1:9), and if we try, try again to know Him better, He will faithfully reward us by revealing Himself, His wisdom, and His plan for our life (Jeremiah 29:13; Deuteronomy 4:29; Proverbs 8:17; Matthew 7:7-8).

In these divine appointments, we need not try at all, for Christ has done it all through His finished work on the cross (John 19:30; Hebrews 12:2). We can be confident that once He has started a good work in us, He will bring it to fruition (Philippians 1:6) as we yield to Him!  

© 2021 Laurie Collett