By David Armstrong, who writes weekly about prayer at Ere You Left Your Room This Morning
I got a pebble in my shoe while hiking up Fraery Peak. At first it was just an irritation, and I ignored it.
After a while it started to become painful. A blister developed.
My guide looked back at me from time to time but kept going at his steady pace. I started to limp, and it was harder to keep up. But I wasn’t going to let a little pebble stop me.
The guide didn’t slacken his pace, and I started to get angry. Surely, he could see I was limping. Why wouldn’t he stop and give me a break?
By the time we summitted, the pain in my foot was all I could think about. “You made it,” he said with a wide grin.
I did not smile back. “This was the worst hike ever. I got a pebble in my shoe two miles back.”
He nodded. “I know.”
“You knew? Then why didn’t you stop so I could take it out?”
He shrugged. “You didn’t ask to stop. I thought maybe you liked having a pebble in your shoe.”
“No, I didn’t like it. It ruined the whole experience. Why should I have had to ask you to stop when you knew I was in pain? You’re an idiot.”
He smiled. “Maybe, but I’m not the one who hiked with a pebble in my shoe without saying anything.”
Photo by sergio souza on Pexels.com
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