Rhonda, I read that book several years ago, and it's wonderful. I see why
it would speak particularly well to your situation. I pray God makes your
feet like hinds' feet and sets you on your high places.
JulieMelton
visit me at
www.heart-and-music.com
Keep smiling!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rhonda Partain" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, May 02, 2004 1:11 PM
Subject: Hinds Feet In High Places
> I am reading this book, it's great, speaks to my
> situation, you know the trust issue, and bing afraid!
> Have any of you read this one Hinds feet In High
> Places here is a sample from the first chapter:
> PART ONE
> "WEEPING MAY ENDURE FOR A NIGHT"
> (psalm 30:5)
> "O them afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not
> comforted, Behold, I will lay thy stones with fair
> colours,
> And lay thy foundations with sapphires, And I will
> make thy windows of agates,
> And thy gates of carbuncles. And all thy
> borders of pleasant stones."
> (isa. 54: ii, 12)
> CHAPTER I
> THE INVITATION TO THE HIGH PLACES
> this is the story of how Much-Afraid escaped from her
> Fearing relatives and went with the Shepherd to the
> High
> Places where "perfect love casteth out fear".
> For several years Much-Afraid had been in the
> service of the Chief Shepherd, whose great flocks were
> pastured down in the Valley of Humiliation. She
> lived with her friends and fellow-workers Mercy and
> Peace
> in a tranquil little white cottage in the village
> of Much-Trembling. She loved her work and desired
> intensely to please the Chief Shepherd, but happy
> as she was in most ways, she was conscious of several
> things which hindered her in her work and caused her
> much
> secret distress and shame.
> In the first place she was a cripple, with feet so
> crooked that they often caused her to limp and stumble
> as
> she went about her work. She had also the very
> unsightly
> blemish of a crooked mouth which greatly disfigured
> both
> expression and speech and was sadly conscious that
> these
> ugly blemishes must be a cause of astonishment and
> offence to many who knew that she was in the service
> of the
> great Shepherd. Most earnestly she longed to be
> completely delivered from these shortcomings and to be
> made beautiful, gracious, and strong as were so
> HINDS' FEET OK HIGH PLACES
> many of the Shepherd's other workers, and above
> all to be
> made like the Chief Shepherd Himself. But she feared
> that
> stthere could be no deliverance from these two
> crippling
> disfigurements
> and that they must continue to mar her service
> always.
> There was, however, another and even greater trouble
> in
> her life. She was a member of the Family of
> Fearings, and her relatives were scattered all over
> the valley, so that she could never really escape from
> them. An orphan, she had been brought up in the
> home of her aunt, poor Mrs. Dismal
> Forebodings, with her two cousins Gloomy and
> Spiteful and their brother Craven Fear, a great
> bully who habitually tormented and persecuted her in
> a really dreadful way.
> Like most of the other families who lived in the
> Valley of Humiliation, all the Fearings hated the
> Chief Shepherd and tried to boycott His
> servants, and naturally it was a great offence to them
> that
> one of their own family should have entered His
> service.
> Consequently they did all they could both by threats
> and
> persuasions to get her out of His employment, and one
> dreadful day they laid before her the family
> dictum that she must immediately marry her cousin
> Craven
> Fear and settle down respectably amongst her
> own people. If she refused to do this of her own free
> will,
> they threatened to use force and compel her. Poor
> Much-Afraid was, of course, overwhelmed with
> horror at the mere idea, but her relatives always
> terrified her, and she had never learnt to resist or
> ignore their threats, so she simply sat cowering
> before
> them, repeating again and again that nothing would
> induce her
> to marry Craven Fear, but quite unable to escape from
> their
> presence.
> The unhappy interview therefore lasted a long time,
> and
> when finally they did leave her for a little, it was
> already
> early evening. With a surge of relief,
> Much-Afraid remembered that the Chief Shepherd
> would then be leading His flocks to their accustomed
> watering-place beside a lovely cascade and pool
> on the outskirts of the village. To this place she was
> in the habit of going very early every morning to meet
> Him
> and learn His wishes and commands for the day, and
> again in the
> evenings to give her report on the day's work. It was
> now
> THE INVITATION TO THE HIGH PLACES
>
> time to meet Him there beside the pool, and she
> felt sure He would help her and not permit her
> relatives to kidnap her and force her to leave His
> service for the dreadful slavery of marriage with
> Craven Fear.
> Still shaking with fear and without pausing to wash
> the tears from
> her face, Much-Afraid shut the door of the
> cottage and started off for the cascade and the pool.
> The quiet evening light was filling the Valley of
> Humiliation with a golden glow as she left the
> village and started to cross the fields. Beyond the
> river, the mountains which bounded the eastern side of
> the
> Valley like towering ramparts were already tinged with
> pink, and
> their deep gorges were filled with lovely and
> mysterious shadows. Through the quiet and peace of
> this
> tranquil evening, poor, terrified Much-Afraid
> came to the pool where the Shepherd was waiting for
> her,
> and told Him of her dreadful plight.
> "What shall I do?"' she cried as she ended the
> recital. "How can I escape? They can't really
> force me to marry my cousin Craven, can they? Oh!
> " cried she, overwhelmed again at the very thought of
> such
> a prospect, "it is dreadful enough to be
> Much-Afraid, but to think of having to be Mrs.
> Craven Fear for the rest of my life and never able
> to escape from the torment of it is more than I
> can bear."
> "Don't be afraid," said the Shepherd gently.
> "You are in My service, and if you will trust Me
> they will not be able to force you against your will
> into any family
> alliance. But you ought never to have let your Fearing
> relatives into your cottage, because they are enemies
> of the King who has taken you into His employment."
> "I know, oh, I know," cried Much-Afraid,
> "but whenever I meet any of my relatives I
> seem to lose all my strength and simply cannot
> resist them, no matter how I strive. As long as
> I live in the Valley I cannot escape meeting
> them. They are everywhere and now that they are
> determined
> to get me into their power again I shall never dare
> venture
> outside my cottage alone for fear of being
> kidnapped."
> As she spoke she lifted her eyes and looked across
> the Valley and the river to the lovely sunset-lighted
> peaks of the moun-
> HINDS' FEET ON HIGH PLACES
> tains, then cried out in desperate longing, "Oh,
> if only I could escape from this Valley of
> Humiliation altogether and go to the High Places,
> completely out of reach of all the Fearings and my
> other
> relatives! His
> No sooner were these words uttered when to her
> complete
> astonishment the Shepherd answered, "I have waited
> a long time to hear you make that suggestion,
> Much-Afraid. It would indeed be best for you to leave
> the Valley for the High Places, and I will very
> willingly take you there Myself. The lower slopes of
> those mountains on the other side of the river are the
> border-land of My Father's Kingdom, the Realm of
> Love. No Fears of any kind are able to live
> there because 'perfect love casteth out fear and
> everything that
> torments".
> Much-Afraid stared at Him in amazement. "Go
> to the High Places," she exclaimed, "and live
> there? Oh, if only I could! For months past the
> longing has never left me. I think of it day and
> night, but it is not possible. I could never get
> there.
> I am too lame." She looked down at her
> malformed feet as she spoke, and her eyes again
> filled with tears of despair and self-pity. "The
> mountains are so steep and dangerous. I have been
> told that only the hinds and the deer can move on them
> safely."
> "It is quite true that the way up to the High
> Places is both difficult and dangerous," said
> the Shepherd. "It has to be, so that nothing
> which is an enemy of Love can make the ascent and
> invade the Kingdom. Nothing blemished or in any
> way imperfect is allowed there, and the inhabitants
> of the High Places do need "hinds" feet". I
> have them Myself," He added with a smile, 'and like a
> young
> hart or a roebuck I can go leaping on the mountains
> and skipping on the hills with the greatest ease and
> pleasure. But, Much-Afraid, I could make yours
> like hinds" feet also, and set you upon the High
> Places. You could serve Me then much more fully and
> be out of reach of all your enemies. I am delighted
> to hear that you have been longing to go there, for,
> as I said
> before, I have been waiting for you to make that
> suggestion.
> Then," he added, with another smile, 'y would never
> have to meet Craven Fear again."
> Much-Afraid stared at Him in bewilderment.
> "Make my feet
> THE INVITATION TO THE HIGH PLACES
>
> like hinds" feetst she repeated. "How is that
> possible? And what would the inhabitants of the
> Kingdom
> of Love say to the presence of a wretched little
> cripple with an ugly face and a twisted mouth, if
> nothing blemished and imperfect may dwell there?"'
> "It is truest said the Shepherd, 't you
> would have to be changed before you could live on the
> High
> Places, but if you are willing to go with Me, I
> promise to help you develop hinds" feet. Up
> there on the mountains, as you get near the real High
> Places, the air is fresh and invigorating. It
> strengthens the whole body and there are streams with
> wonderful healing properties, so that those who bathe
> in
> them find all their blemishes and disfigurements
> washed
> away. But there is another thing I must tell you. Not
> only would I have to make your feet like hinds' feet,
> but you would have to receive another name, for it
> would be as
> impossible for a Much-Afraid to enter the Kingdom of
> Love as for any other member of the Fearing family.
> Are you willing to be changed completely,
> Much-Afraid, and to be made like the new name which
> you will
> receive if you become a citizen in the Kingdom of
> Love?"'
> She nodded her head and then said very earnestly,
> 'allyes, I am."
> Again He smiled, but added gravely, "There is still
> one thing more, the most important of all. No one
> is allowed to dwell in the Kingdom of Love unless
> they have the flower of Love already blooming in their
> hearts. Has Love been planted in your heart,
> Much-Afraid?"'
> As the Shepherd said this He looked at her very
> steadily and she realised that His eyes were searching
> into the
> very depths of her heart and knew all that was there
> far
> better than she did herself. She did not answer for a
> long time, because she was not sure what to say, but
> she
> looked rather flinchingly into the eyes which were
> gazing at her
> so penetratingly and became aware that they had the
> power
> of reflecting what they looked upon.
> She could thus really see her own heart as He saw
> it, so after a long pause she answered, "I think
> that what is growing there
> HINDS" FEET ON HIGH PLACES
> is a great longing to experience the joy of natural,
> human love and to learn to love supremely one
> person who will love me in return. But perhaps that
> desire, natural and right as it seems, is not the
> Love of which You are speaking? " She paused and then
> added honestly and almost tremblingly, 'I see the
> longing to be loved and admired growing in my heart,
> Shepherd, but I don't think I see the kind of
> Love that You are talking about, at least, nothing
> like the
> love which I see in Y."
> "Then will you let Me plant the seed of true
> Love there now? " asked the Shepherd. "It will
> take you some time to develop hinds" feet
> and to climb to the High Places, and if I put the
> seed in your heart now it will be ready to bloom by
> the time
> you get there."
> Much-Afraid shrank back. 'I am afraid,"
> she said. "I have been told that if you really love
> someone you give that loved one the power to hurt and
> pain
> you in a way nothing else can."
> "That is true," agreed the Shepherd. To love
> does mean to put your self into the power of the loved
> one
> and to become very vulnerable to pain, and you are
> very
> much-afraid of pain, are you not? His
> She nodded miserably and then said shamefacedly,
> 'allyes, very much afraid of it."
> "But it is so happy to love," said the Shepherd
> quietly. "It is happy to love even if you are
> not loved in return. There is pain too,
> certainly, but Love does not think that very
> significant."
> Much-Afraid thought suddenly that He had the most
> patient eyes she had ever seen. At the same time
> there was something in them that hurt her to the
> heart, though she
> could not have said why, but she still shrank back in
> fear and
> said (bringing the words out very quickly because
> somehow she was
> ashamed to say them), "I would never dare to love
> unless I were sure of being loved in return.
> If I let You plant the seed of Love in my
> heart will You give me the promise that I shall be
> loved in return? I couldn't bear it otherwise."
> The smile He turned on her then was the gentlest and
> kindest she had ever seen, yet once again, and for the
> same indefinable
> THE INVITATION TO THE HIGH PLACES
>
> reason as before, it cut her to the quick. "Yes,
>
> He said, without hesitation. 'I promise you,
> Much-Afraid, that when the plant of Love is
> ready to bloom in your heart and when you are ready
> to change your name, then you will be loved in
> return."
> A thrill of joy went through her from head to foot. It
> seemed too wonderful to be believed, but the
> Shepherd Himself was making the promise, and of one
> thing
> she was quite sure, He could not lie. "Please
> plant Love in my heart now," she said
> faintly. Poor little soul, she was still Much-Afraid
> even when promised the greatest thing in the world.
> The Shepherd put His hand in His bosom, drew
> something forth, and laid it in the palm of His hand.
> Then
> He held His hand out towards Much-Afraid.
> "Here is the seed of Love," He said.
> She bent forward to look, then gave a startled little
> cry and drew back. There was indeed a seed lying in
> the palm of His hand, but it was shaped exactly like a
> long, sharply-pointed thorn. Much-Afraid had
> often noticed that the Shepherd's hands were scarred
> and
> wounded, but now she saw that the scar in the palm of
> the hand
> held out to her was the exact shape and size of the
> seed
> of Love lying beside it.
> "The seed looks very sharp," she said shrinkingly.
> "Won't it hurt if You put it into my heart?"'
> He answered gently, "It is so sharp that it
> slips in very quickly. But, Much-Afraid, I have
> already warned you that Love and Pain go together, for
> a time
> at least. If you would know Love, you must know pain
> too."
> Much-Afraid looked at the thorn and shrank from it.
> Then she looked at the Shepherd's face and
> repeated His words to herself. "When the seed of Love
> in your heart is ready to bloom, you will be loved in
> return," and a strange new courage entered
> into her. She suddenly stepped forward, bared her
> heart, and said, "Please plant the seed here in my
> heart."
> His face lit up with a glad smile and He said with a
> note of joy in His voice, "Now you will be
> able to go with Me to the High Places and be a citizen
> in the Kingdom of My Father."
> Then He pressed the thorn into her heart. It was
> true, just as
> HINDS' FEET ON HIGH PLACES
> He had said, it did cause a piercing pain, but it
> slipped in quickly and then, suddenly, a sweetness she
> had never felt or imagined before tingled through her.
> It
> was bitter-sweet, but the sweetness was the stronger.
>
>
>
>
>
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