Years ago, I heard a preacher describe some experience in life as “walking through treakle.” I had no idea what treakle was, but he made it sound lovely. Of course, he was British. He made everything sound lovely.
Treakle is, in fact, the British equivalent of molasses. Walking through it is not lovely, at all. It is slow and difficult and exhausting. And it is the perfect description for some seasons of life. Seasons that last all of two hours on a Thursday afternoon in a hospital waiting room. And seasons that drag on into months and years when the work is hard and the reward is not apparent.
I don’t know if you are walking through treakle right now, but we sort of feel that way at our house. Various elements have converged to create a great vat of treakle spilled out on our pathway, and we are schlepping our way through it. If you listen, you can hear the sucking sound as it tries to pull the shoes off our feet.
The good news is two-fold: First, we are making progress. Even in treakle, one manages to move forward an inch at a time. Second, treakle is sweet. We may not notice it when we are trying to walk through the stuff. But given the benefit of time and distance, we may look back one day and say, “Oh, yes. Wasn’t that a sweet season in our life?”
Or, maybe not. Maybe it’s just a bunch of goo.
Either way, if we just keep walking, we will get through it. We may leave a shoe behind here or there, but we’ll get through it.
P.S.: It helps to hold hands. Better for balance.
Ugh. I so feel this post.
Here, take my hand. We’ll pull one another along.
Kathy, I loved this. We walked thru Treakle this
week and managed to get thru with our shoes
intact. We are in Awe of our miracle working
father!!
That is great news! Hurray for still having shoes.
Doing that walk right now with my sweet mama whose dementia is growing worse by the week it seems. Thanks for the reminder of the sweetness that comes also. Praying your walk is soon through daiseys.
Ah, thanks. So sorry about your mama. I’m praying for moments of sweetness with her.
you have no idea how much I love this post! When I was very young I had to eat molasses sandwich’s & drink it in milk (instead of Nestle’s) when I was anemic. I have a love of the thick gooey sweetness that goes waaayyyy back. Now that I am treading my way through one of life’s many tough spots and feeling like “oh no there went another of my favorite shoes”, but as tough as it can be, also feel like I have many moments of “taste and see that the Lord is good”. This so perfectly said exactly how I feel. I don’t necessarily like the trudging but I so love the sweetness of His grace & mercy that brings healing each and every time… This I know to be true because He has never left me where I could not get out.
I’m so glad your are tasting some sweetness in this tough spot. I think you are certainly walking through this one beautifully.
I definitely hear you here. Thanks for the reminder that treacle is sweet – and that it helps to hold hands.
Oh, Katie, thanks for commenting. It helps so much to know we aren’t treading alone, doesn’t it?