Have you ever heard of the path of Long Patience? It is not an easy road to follow, so lots of people choose an easier path. And many who start on it don’t ever finish. But if you want to come to the Land of Everlasting Joy, you have to take this path all the way to the end. There is a secret for not giving up part way, which is what I want to tell you in
My Travels to the Land of Everlasting Joy
This is my love story, about how my knight in shining armor and I, a country princess, met. We are now preparing for a wonderful future together, which sadly must mean the end of publishing this magazine. But before I say “goodbye” and “God bless and keep you,” I must tell you about the path that I have taken to the Land of Everlasting Joy. I hope that you will want to travel it, too, and find out that the Castle of Happily-Ever-After is not just in storybooks.
But let me start at the beginning. Once, long ago when God made the world, He planted a beautiful garden, which was the Land of Everlasting Joy. He gave it to the first man and his wife to live in and enjoy, and He gave them two things to make them perfectly happy. Every day they ate the fruit of Eternal Life and every evening they met in Faith Always to walk and talk with God. But sadly, they listened to the evil thoughts of the Enemy and disobeyed God, and so they had to leave the Land of Everlasting Joy. Now they could not be perfectly happy, but must suffer and sweat and have sadness.
God wanted people to live in the Land of Everlasting Joy, but there was a great canyon between them now. The way across was dangerous and long. So He made a special path called Long Patience to lead them back to the beautiful garden. He put signposts and sent messengers to tell people how to get there. Most didn’t believe what He said. Some people started on the path, but when they saw the dangers of the canyon, they gave up. But some read the signposts carefully and prepared for the journey.
Signpost:
This path leads to the Land of Everlasting Joy. Travelers must take with them Eternal Water and the walking stick of Faith to make it to the end. These are provided to all who ask at the Wayfarer’s Inn.
And so it was that once upon a time, over twenty years ago, a country girl saw the sign and decided to start on the path of Long Patience. She didn’t know how long it would be or how hard, but she made a good choice. She went to the Wayfarer’s Inn for supplies. And what wonderful supplies they gave her! The canteen of Eternal Water was light and easy to carry—and tasted so sweet and refreshing. The best part was that it never ran out! The walking stick of Faith was also quite amazing, because the minute you leaned on it, you grew stronger and were able to leap over any obstacle in your path!
She said, “Thank you so much!” and was just about to start out, when the kind owner of the Inn stopped her. “If you don’t mind, I will go with you,” he said. “You are young and there are many dangers, but I promise to be your guide and get you safely to the end.” Then he gave her a lanyard with a beautiful heart whistle and compass to hang about her neck. “If at any point you lose sight of me or are uncertain of what to do, blow this whistle,” he told her. “The compass will always point in the direction you should take, so you will never be lost.”
So they started out together. I must say that the country girl, for all the running about she was used to doing, was not very good at steady walking. Sometimes she would fall quite behind her guide, because she was distracted by a flower on the wayside or a rock in her shoe. Sometimes she would be skipping along and forget all about where she was going or who she was following, until she found herself in a rocky gully and heard coyotes howling nearby. When she was thirsty, sometimes she would even forget about her canteen and start to get dizzy and faint in the warm sunshine. Patiently her guide helped her along. She certainly wouldn’t have made it a tenth of the way without his gentle reminders and even some sharp rebukes. “Don’t run ahead!” he had to warn her several times. “There are cliffs and the gravel is loose.” She learned to use her whistle—and pay attention to her compass—and things got better.
There were many things to learn along the path. Especially about how to get over obstacles. As the country girl traveled along, she found that the way got rougher and steeper. “It is time to use your walking stick more,” her guide pointed out. “It is the only way to get across this part, because these rocks will scrape you up if you try to climb over them.” She began to realize that the walking stick of Faith was an interesting tool, because it never worked quite the way you expected it to. Once she felt the ground shake and a boulder began sliding toward her. It was a frightening moment, and she swung her walking stick forward to protect herself! Suddenly there was no boulder at all—only a tiny pebble on the path in front of her. “What happened?!” she asked in surprise. “Faith shrinks problems down to size,” her guide told her with a smile.
The best part was when she discovered the password to the Castle. The country girl had been trudging along for miles and even leaning on her walking stick only lifted her feet a few inches. “I don’t want to give up,” she said at last to her guide, “but I am out of strength and can’t go another step. Can you please carry me?” It was a moment of surrender, because she always liked to be able to do things herself. “Of course,” her guide said, scooping her up easily. “It is my delight to take weary travelers to the Castle to rest.” Before she could ask “what castle?” they were standing before a giant stone wall with a carved wooden door. It was surrounded by fragrant flowering vines and a banner of Love waved overhead. When the door opened she could see a splashing fountain in a beautiful courtyard. It took her breath away for a moment, and then she whispered, “I have always dreamed of being a princess.” “You are one, and very precious to the King of this Castle,” her guide said, as he set her down on a soft cushion inside. Happiness filled her heart as birds sang and smiling serving girls offered her refreshments to eat. It was like the best storybook, because this was the Castle of Happily-Ever-After and she, a little country girl, was actually a princess!
After that the country girl-turned-princess was never quite so weary on her journey down the path. She learned to ask to be carried more often, and so there were many special rest-stops which filled her heart with joy. And when she had long stretches of walking on the path to do, she would try to sing the Castle songs that she was learning. They were the secret code of Happily-Ever-After, because whenever she would sing them, it felt like she was back with the birds and the splashing fountain. The country princess realized that she was part of a wonderful kingdom, with a great King who cared for all the weary travelers of the World and wanted them all to know Him and live in His Castle. This journey wasn’t just about getting to the Land of Everlasting Joy, but learning all about it along the way!
This story would be very, very long if I told you of all the adventures the country princess had on her travels. So I must skip many parts and bring you closer to the Meeting Place. By now she had been on the path of Long Patience for so long that she never thought of any other life. She lived to walk and encourage other travelers along. There were some very difficult stretches of the path where she had to use her Faith stick more than her feet. It was then that she learned to know her King. She used to be a bit afraid of Him in all his royalty, and tried very hard to please Him. But when she was overwhelmed by the hard times, her guide would set her down at the King’s footstool and she would rest her head on His knee. As she told Him her woes and fears, she felt the comfort of His presence and the tenderness of His hand stroking her hair. And as she listened to His thoughts and desires for her, she began to realize how much He cared for her happiness.
It was one of those times when the King talked to her about the Meeting Place. The country princess had seen others at the Meeting Place—it was a laughing, exciting spot near the Castle where people chose a traveling companion for the journey. It was a good plan that the King had made, and it included a special two-piece locket. Each princess had one piece, and one of the traveling knights would have the other. “Once the pieces are locked together,” the King explained, “they are now one team for the rest of the path so they can help each other along.” The country princess had often thought it would be very special to have her own knight to travel with. Except, she had noticed that many of the new teams weren’t always happy together and had more troubles on the path of Long Patience. Besides, she didn’t know any knights around the Castle that she would want to walk with. So she had decided that it was safer just to keep close to her guide and find her comforts at the King’s footstool. She hid her locket piece at the bottom of her bag and nearly forgot about the Meeting Place.
One day when she was telling him about feeling lonely, the King brought up the subject. “Would you like a knight to travel with?” He asked. The country princess felt a tingle of excitement. Did the King really think she should share her locket piece with a traveling knight? Then she was afraid. What if he didn’t turn out to be trustworthy, or as eager to get to the Land of Everlasting Joy as she was? Life could be much more difficult than just being lonely. The Meeting Place suddenly seemed a bit frightening, because it could change her journey forever. But when she looked up and saw how eager the King was to take her there, she slipped her hand in His and followed Him across the Castle lawn.
“Show me your locket piece,” He said, when they were sitting on one of the benches at the Meeting Place. She pulled it out of her bag and He carefully tied a “ribbon of rules” onto it. The first one said, “Speak often with those that love the King.” The second said, “Look for one that is on the same journey.” The King carefully tied the ribbon around her neck so the locket piece could easily be seen. She was ready to meet her very first knight! The King smiled down at her. “I’m nearby if you need me for anything,” He reminded her.
And the country princess certainly did, because meeting knights didn’t turn out to be so easy. Oh, there were plenty coming and going to the Meeting Place all the time—tall ones and short ones, ones that marched and ones that danced. It was boggling. Who should she talk to? She read her ribbon rule one, and started paying attention to the ones that were coming from the Castle. “If they love the King, they will spend time with Him,” she told herself. She saw a tall knight approaching and asked, “How was your visit with the King?” “Oh, fine,” he said with a nod, and passed by. She tried several more times, but the conversations never got very far. It was getting discouraging. When she talked to the King about it, He took her to the balcony and pointed to the canyon before them. “This is the path of Long Patience, my dear. Use your supplies and keep your ribbon tied tight.”
The country princess learned a lot during the long months she spent at the Meeting Place. She learned to stop looking at how tall or interesting the knights were, but how they walked. Did they use their walking stick of Faith very often, or depend on their own strength to get over obstacles? She had several good visits with some that spoke highly of the King. They liked to hang about the Castle yard “doing important work for the kingdom,” they said. But she rarely saw any of them when she was traveling down the path of Long Patience. The country princess touched the ribbon around her neck and remembered Rule number two. She couldn’t give her locket piece to any of them.
One day she saw a new knight at the Meeting Place. He had a shiny silver helmet and was striding quickly, but when he noticed the country princess on her bench, he stopped and smiled. “Did you have a good visit with the King?” she asked sweetly, making room on the bench for him. They soon were deep in conversation, and the country princess was happy to hear how much he loved the King and spent time with Him every day. “Let us continue our visit another time,” he said, bowing politely as he stood. “I must be back to duty now.” The country princess often met with the knight with the shiny helmet after that, and learned many things about him. He was very kind to other travelers. He had also been on the path of Long Patience for a long time. He told her about his many adventures and listened as she told about hers. She noticed that his walking stick of Faith was well-used from all the boulders and gravel and quicksand he had leapt over. He was a friendly and faithful knight, and she liked him.
There was one thing that bothered her though, and she spoke to the King about it one day. “He said he came from a village up in the hills, and so he has a strange accent that makes me uncomfortable sometimes. I wish he would just speak normally, like I do.” The King looked at her soberly. “Do you think that you speak normally? What if you are the one with the strange accent?” The country princess hung her head. But the King had instructions for her. “I want you to spend more time looking at his armor and where he is headed, than bother about his accent and where he came from. The knights who have shiny armor are the ones I trust.”
Shiny armor was a sign of being trustworthy? The country princess hadn’t thought of that. Now she paid more attention when the friendly knight stopped by the Meeting Place. It was true! Not only his helmet, but his breastplate and girdle shone brightly from being polished often at the Castle armory. The country princess blushed. How could she have even doubted his worth? After that she began to feel quite safe around him and his strange accent didn’t bother her anymore. More and more she noticed that they met up as they traveled on the path of Long Patience, and that she enjoyed his company. It wasn’t long before she was sure that she would like to give him the locket piece that hung by the ribbon around her neck.
Her opportunity came quite soon. They were both resting in the shade along the path of Long Patience after a good stretch of walking. The knight in shining armor began to tell the country princess how he had been visiting with the King. “He says you are a good pick for my traveling companion,” he said, “but I want to know what He has told you.” “He said that I can safely trust you,” the country princess said with a smile. The knight in shining armor picked up his walking stick and tapped it on the ground. “I have nothing but my stick of Faith to face the path ahead of us,” he said. “That is all we need,” she replied. “Well then, will you give me your locket piece so we can be a team?” he asked. “I’d love to!” she said, pulling the ribbon from her neck and laying it in his hands. They looked up and saw the King smiling down on them.
Yes, the path of Long Patience is a wonderful place for this country princess and her knight in shining armor. That is because they are set to go to the Land of Everlasting Joy together. They know that there will be boulders and gravel slopes ahead, but their walking sticks of Faith will get them safely over each one. By looking at their compass and listening to their guide, they won’t get lost. The path is hot and long, but the Eternal Water in their canteens keeps them refreshed. And every day they spend time with the King in the Castle of Happily-Ever-After, which is just as lovely as I’ve told you about.
So, goodbye to all you dear travelers. I pray God bless and keep you as you seek His secret for happiness and learn to never give up on the path of Long Patience!