LABYRINTHS: A LITERAL PATH FOR DECREASING YOUR ANXIETY

I took a walk in the labyrinth this morning. While walking, it felt as though my ball of stress and anxiety over a variety of things could be slowly unraveled along that path. But the thing that especially stood out to me today is how the path starts and ends. 

I’ve noticed in a couple of labyrinths (may need to do some labyrinth design research later) that near the beginning of the path it takes me right near the center. I always have to think twice, because it feels like I’m about to reach the middle, but then I know that enough time has definitely not elapsed. I have certainly not walked the majority of the path. Sure enough, as I follow the path, it takes me back to the outskirts of the circle. 

I received some disappointing news this week. I’ve been pursuing some major life changes, and that has led me down a path of incredible hope and excitement. There are dreams that I’ve had for nearly ten years that I may see come to fruition in the near future. But then I got an email this week detailing a few more bumps in the road toward those dreams than I had hoped for. It feels as though I have hoped in vain. I feel foolish for thinking things would be so easy. 

Today on the labyrinth, as I was led close, but not quite to the middle at the beginning of the walk, and then led to the outer circles, I thought about this disappointment. I was hoping for a clear and straight path toward my dreams, toward the center if you will. Yet the truth remains, that I am still on the path of the labyrinth. It’s winding and not at all straightforward, but I can be assured that if I keep following, I will reach the center eventually. 

God comforted me in this assurance this morning. He also reminded me that many good and true things feel winding and not straightforward. The Gospel itself--that God became man in Jesus, so that He could live, die, and rise again as the firstfruits of salvation for humanity--is really not straightforward at all. Yet I find that the complexities only make it more beautiful. 

So my prayer this morning is that the complexities of my life, even the disappointments and failures, will only make room for more of God’s beauty to shine through.

(UPDATE: The dream was to move to Pakistan! I have happily lived here since March 2021)