When I was kid, we had a next-door neighbor named Helmut. He was from Germany, and many times I didn’t understand him. But I liked his kind smile and tone. One day, I was playing basketball in the driveway with a friend, and Helmut came past, heading home from a walk. He stopped to watch for a few minutes. I made a basket and called to him, “I’m going to win!” I jumped up and down, my pony tail bouncing.

“Ah, Jeanette,” he answered with a shake of his head, “man soll den Tag nicht vor dem Abend loben.”

A university student group organized an outing to a ropes course for their members to build confidence and teach teamwork. The course comprised a number of activities designed with varying levels of difficulty so people would have to push themselves to accomplish goals.

One of the challenges consisted of two poles standing twenty yards apart, each with a platform twenty feet off the ground. A steel cable stretched from one to the other above head height. Below hung a net.

I didn’t intend to have a theme going this week. But recently, as I read the story of the Lord leading Jared, his brother, and their families and friends across an ocean to a promised land, I was reminded that this is a parable of sorts—a journey that represents life. And I noticed something I hadn’t before even though I’ve read this story numerous times.