Dropped

 At once (1:12) 

On the way down from Great Gable in the Lake District, there runs a babbling brook called Sour Milk Gill. The path beside it meanders backwards and forwards down the hill sometimes coming up close to the stream, at other times drifting away into the heather and bracken that skirt it's banks. At one point as you descend you come across a large rock that allows the brave walker to step out over a fall in the stream of about sixty feet. It's a last thrill as you come off the mountain, anticipating tea and a bun at the cafe at the bottom. On a sunny day in February, I took this slight detour to take in the view.

I was at the time working for Scripture Union, a Christian organisation that, among other things, organised holidays for young people. I was a rather inexperienced youngster, well out of my depth practically and spiritually, and it had taken it's toll, leaving me desperate for a holiday. So I booked an ice-climbing week in the Lakes. It had been an astonishingly dry and warm winter, and there was no expectation of any snow, let alone ice, so I was delighted and encouraged to find God had laid on both just for the one week of the year and in the one place I needed it. And as I descended Sour Milk Gill, I could look back on a day of igloo building on the slopes of Great Gable.

What I did not do, as I walked out onto that rock, is look down very carefully. My confidence was high, and I strolled out sure-footed to gaze onto the churning pool way below. Imagine my surprise, then, on finding myself not looking over as I had imagined, but sitting on the edge of the rock staring down at the drop between my knees. As my brain unscrambled the last few moments, I realised that my feet had slid on black ice, that invisible stuff so miss-named, and shot out from under me. If I had been six inches further on, my lower regions would have made a first impact on some very sharp rocks after a very long fall.

So I am in sympathy with Jesus and the Spirit's 'at once'. He must have expected great things after his baptism - a swelling ministry, awed crowds, able followers. Instead he was driven, led, guided, 'at once' into the wilderness. So when God puts black ice in front of you and drops you on your backside, remember that you are in good company. Of such things are missions made.