Hunny! 40 Days in the 100 Aker Wood

Day 9 – Friday after 1st Sunday of Lent

To Read:

“I shall have to wait until I catch up with it,” said Winnie-the-Pooh.  “Now, look there.”  He pointed to the ground in front of him.  “What do you see there?”

“Tracks,” said Piglet, “Paw-marks.”  He gave a little squeak of excitement.  “Oh, Pooh! Do you think it’s a – a – a Woozle?”

“It may be,” said Pooh.  “Sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn’t.  You never can tell with paw-marks.”

With these few words he went on tracking, and Piglet, after watching him for a minute or two, ran after him. Winnie-the-Pooh had come to a sudden stop, and was bending over the tracks in a puzzled sort of way.

“What’s the matter?” asked Piglet.

“It’s a very funny thing,” said Bear, “but there seem to be two animals now.  This – whatever-it-was – has been joined by another – whatever-it-is – and the two of them are now proceeding in company.  Would you mind coming with me, Piglet, in case they turn out to be Hostile Animals?”

Piglet scratched his ear in a nice sort of way, and said that he had nothing to do until Friday, and would be delighted to come, in case it really was a Woozle.

“You mean, in case it really is two Woozles,” said Winnie-the-Pooh, and Piglet said that anyhow he had nothing to do until Friday. So off they went together.

(Winnie the Pooh – Pooh & Piglet go hunting and nearly catch a Woozle)

From the Scriptures:

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. ⁸ Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.  

(1 Peter 5v6-8)

Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. ¹⁰ For if they fall, one will lift up the other, but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. ¹¹ Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? ¹² And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.  

(Ecclesiastes 4v9-12)

To Reflect:

What frightens you?  Is it the future or perhaps the past? Is it all that is happening in the world around us?  Or is it ‘that’ secret you hold in your heart that you hope no one else knows about?

These fears, in all their shapes and sizes are perhaps our own versions of Piglet and Pooh’s Woozle.  Not always, as was their ‘Hostile Animal’, something imaginary but definitely something we do not want to face.  And if we must face it we would rather not face it alone.

I don’t know why I let myself succumb to fear.  After all did not our Beloved ‘free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death?’ (cf. Hebrews 2v14-15).  But that is how we find ourselves; we see something out of place and unexplained and become unsettled.  Past masters in playing the pointless games of ‘What If?’ and ‘If Only..’ we find ourselves living in fear instead of freedom and our faith does not grow as we hope it would.

What we need, as Carol King put it so succinctly, is a friend.

Fortunately for Pooh and Piglet and all the other small animals in the great big world that is the 100 Aker Wood friends are to be found a plenty.  Having a friend to walk the journey with you does not mean that fear vanishes (Piglet is just as frightened as Pooh as they try to track down this ‘Hostile Animal’ but they travel together) but it does mean that anxiety is lessened, hearts beat less furiously and the journey continues.

To have someone to walk the way with us, to help us journey through fear and uncertainty, is to open ourselves to receiving grace and mercy, peace and hope.  So why does it take so long for us to seek out our very own ‘Piglet’ to walk with us (BTW as we walk with them we become ‘Piglet’ for them).  These special friends come in many shapes and sizes and have many different names – Spiritual Director, Soul Friend, Confessor, Faith Doula, Guru – the title doesn’t matter.  We all need someone with whom we can be a confidant with whom to share our darkest fears and deepest hopes.  

As the saying goes ‘Whoever is taught by themselves has a fool for a master.’

To Pray: 

Make us worthy, Lord, to serve our fellow men throughout the world who live and die in poverty and hunger.  Give them through our hands this day their  daily bread, and by our understanding love, give peace and joy.

(Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

To Do: 

1)  That person in church on Sunday with whom no one talks after the service.  If only for a few moments, be their friend

2)  Consider having regular conversations about the journey of faith with a fellow Christian.