Right smack in the middle of the night, like 3:30 a.m., my two pups awakened me from a dead sleep by snuggling close and shivering. I groggily covered them, but the shivering continued. Maybe they needed to go outside. So I sent them into the rain, and they refused to come back inside. So I went outside, in the drizzle, and carried them in.

Then I heard it—a high-pitched “chirp!” Every seven seconds or so, the chirp reoccurred. I got up, found the culprit, and removed the batteries from the malfunctioning smoke detector. The chirp continued. Then another monitor chirped. I placed the de-batteried, still beeping monitors between pillows inside the Tahoe in the garage.

The pups continued to shiver in fright next to me for the next three hours, after which we all finally fell asleep. My son-in-law came the next day and replaced the batteries from Conrad’s battery box. After three more middle-of-the-night wake-ups, he replaced all the batteries with brand new ones from the store, even though the tester showed life in the original ones. So far, so good.  

So many challenges began a year ago. First, I had to start driving again after eight years of Conrad doing all the driving. Then, I needed to learn to use my GPS to find my way to unfamiliar places. Recently, due to road construction, Siri took me through Spokane in a lot of traffic. I finally arrived home safe and mostly sound.

Then essential apps on my phone stopped working. The final solution? Buy a newer phone. Not hearing well challenges me, especially trying to solve internet problems with people with foreign accents. I discovered I can use Google to learn to fix things and be taken advantage of by scammers. I take responsibility for my bank account, bills, and doctor visits. I even figured out how to program the thermostat. I used to rely on my husband to care of all these things. Now, I manage to get through one panic before another strikes—like faulty smoke detectors.

However, Psalm 84 recently gave me a new perspective. Verse 7 says They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. Who goes from strength to strength? Verse 5 says, Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. Without a husband, I could go from defeat to defeat, anxiety to anxiety. But instead, God tells me I can go from strength to strength if I set my heart on pilgrimage.

“A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life”—Wikipedia.

Pondering that cool perspective draws me into an intentional search for personal growth, exploration, and a fresh encounter with God. Google also says, “A pilgrimage is a sacred journey, undertaken for a spiritual purpose. Pilgrims are different from tourists: they travel for spiritual reasons, not just to relax or for fun. Pilgrimage is a search for meaning, purpose, values or truth.”

Jesus asks, “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? (Mat 6:25). My life is also more than making it through one day at a time or seeking temporary pleasures. I have a purpose, a sacred journey to expand my understanding of life, others, and a higher good to experience now like never before.

 Psalm 84 calls each of us to set our hearts on pilgrimage. Though it takes us into an unknown or foreign place, like Abraham, we journey by faith and trust God to fulfill His promise. Each time I have to face another scary thing on this journey, and I face it, do it, and come through it, God gives me a sense of victory and renewed strength for the next scary thing. I need not stay in bed and shiver like my pups. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2Tim 1:7).

It’s not that my new perspective stops my tears, but Psalm 84:6 says, As they pass through the Valley of Baka (tears), they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. Yes, tears still come to make this valley a “place of springs” and cover it with life-giving pools, making it fruitful. I still hate the lonely Friday “date nights” and the long Sunday afternoons without his loving companionship. I still miss doing errands together, taking walks in the park, and sitting together on the deck swing on warm evenings. Yet knowing this pilgrimage comes to an end comforts me.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2Co 4:18). Until that eternal day, I thank the LORD for making me an overcomer (see Rev 2:7,11,17, 26; 3:21), and more than a conqueror through Him who loves me! (see Rom 8:35-37). The LORD renews my strength like the eagle (Isa 40:31; Ps 103:5). He gives me strength to do scary things, which gives me more strength for the next difficult thing. We go from strength to strength with intense and joyful confidence until each of us sees God. Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith (1Jo 5:4).

NOW ABOUT THE PAINTINGS:

Wanting to conceptually illustrate “Strength to Strength,” I painted stepping stones across a brightly colored pond. However, I wasn’t happy with it, so I recklessly dripped and splashed paint across the canvas. When I stepped back, to my horror, the stepping stones had turned into a giant black snake! Then, I looked at that black snake again and decided he would not get the best of me. So I sang praise songs and before long, that painting transformed into something completely different. The snake disappeared, as did my “strength to strength” stepping stones, but in their place, a blossoming aspen grove emerged. As I go from strength to strength, God transforms me, too, so I reveal more and more of His grace and beauty.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion (Psa 84:5-11).