In the 90s, a friend suggested I read the book "Hind's Feet on High Places." She said that it had helped to change her life and see Jesus with new eyes. Well, I was at a point that I needed to see Jesus with new eyes. As I read the story on lunch breaks, the ride home from work, in the bathroom and before bed—I couldn’t put it down! On every page it seemed to be speaking to me about something. Let me try my hand at book reporting…

The story is an allegory. The main character is named Much-Afraid and she is representative of the "everyman." Much-Afraid is trying to get away from her family, the Fearings, for obvious reasons: they are filled with vice and hopelessness. Much-Afraid comes into the service of the great Shepherd, much to the disapproval of the Fearing family. The Shepherd is in the practice of taking his servants on a journey to the High Places, where they are healed of ailments, character flaws and poor attitudes. They also receive new names and "hind's feet". The Shepherd wanted to take Much-Afraid to the High Places and be healed and receive a new name and so she could have "hind's feet" since she was crippled and had a crooked mouth.

Hind's feet you might say? Why would she want to have feet like a deer? Well, when you have hind's feet, this gives you the ability to bound from problem to trial to test to tribulation etc.. with hope and victory. This is what Much-Afraid needed because she was as her name describes her: much afraid of everything. This is not how she wanted to continue existing. She agrees to take the journey accepting all the that the Shepherd should choose for her no matter how painful. Along the way she is confronted with her relatives Pride, Bitterness, Self-Pity, and Resentment, who try to keep her from reaching the High Places. As you read the book, you go with Much-Afraid and share in the lessons that she learns and rejoice with her in her triumphs.

As I read this book the first time, I was about to start my senior year of college and student teaching. Through out the book the characters behave according to their names such as: Mercy, Gloomy, Dismal Forebodings. I had decided that if I were a character in the book I would want to be "Faith Unwavering" and the Lord took me up the challenge. No sooner had I finished the book, a newborn cousin died and a couple weeks after that I became strangely ill.

After a multitude of strange symptoms and a series of tests it was determined that I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. This was not a good thing, but I did say that I wanted unwavering faith. And over the course of the next weeks and months, the Shepherd took me on my own mini journey toward the High Places. I can’t say I have unwavering faith yet, but I have much more than I did before I fell sick. This book was instrumental in holding me up and its message and characters are very near and dear to my heart, which is why I want to share with others: so they too can read this book and see Jesus with new eyes and be touched and delivered from the thing that is keeping us from victory over trials!!!

The message I want most to convey is that, this is a book that speaks about victorious Christian living but is in no way to replace the Holy Bible. When I first read the book I underlined lines that spoke to me the most and now I share them.