"Wilderness" | Reflection by Phylis Iqbal

Luke 4:1-2 "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil."

I remember one Saturday when I headed to the woods as I often do on the weekends; ignoring the warning of rain. It looked like it had stopped, so I took a drive and as soon as I arrived, I began to walk around looking for the remnants of a town deep in the forest.

Well, the rain did start up again and soon, my 7 lb chihuahua and I were soaking wet, caught in a lightning storm. Time began to pass and it felt like I was walking in circles. Eventually, I called my friend, but ever unable to ask for help, pretended it would be fine and hesitated until finally, she said she was coming. 

Wandering around in the time that followed, my mind told me that I would never get out and no one would ever find me. I remember actually having a moment of begging God for help and began to follow a trail, unaware where it would lead. In this moment, the only thing that kept me from laying down and giving up was that I had been given the responsibility of caring for this small creature who was stuck here because of me.

I was tired, I was hungry, and wet, but then I saw a familiar path that led me straight to a waterfall I had visited before in an entirely different town than where I had started. I quickly called my friend and was amazed that she was only minutes away from my location. As I was coming out of the woods to the clearing, she pulled in and I felt triumph to literally be out of the woods. If it had not been for my good friend and for my dog, I would have given up.

It’s hard to get out of our own heads when we find ourselves in the wilderness, but it is not where we are meant to stay. Our thoughts are not who we are and they do not always have to decide our fates. Everything in life is only for a time and even in the darkest, stormiest of times there are always gifts from the Divine leading us to a way out. Sometimes it’s a friend who picks you up and sometimes it’s a small dog who only came along for the ride.