~Part VI~
When first her friend and partner had gone on ahead of her to the kingdom, she had thought that she could never love or serve or fight again. But the journey continued, as journeys always do, and she stayed upright on her horse, and found her way one day at a time through the sadness and pain, and even fought in the battles, though not at first with the same joyous abandon she once had. She did not speak to the knight very often, for each time she did it seemed she could only complain and sometimes cry, and she feared that he would grow impatient with her weakness.
There were times, in the heat of the battle, that she began to hear the lies that the enemy thrust at her, as if it heard her very thoughts and echoed them back to her heart.
You deserved it, the enemy whispered. You were not good enough to deserve that happiness. Or sometimes, You must have done something wrong, something to displease the king and his knight, so you were punished. The king is not good! the enemy sometimes yelled into her ear. How could he be good and do this to you? But the worst of all the whispers was the one that told her you are not loved, for it reminded her of the days in the dungeon and she quailed before the enemy and could not fight.
But on those days and in those times, she found herself surrounded by her fellow travelers, and all of the encouragement she had once shouted to them in the battle was delivered back to her in their voices, and she began to find strength in it. And over time, she saw that the gift of these others was leading her heart back to the king and his knight, and one day she sought him out, but could not speak because her heart was still too full of pain and confusion and yet some hope.
And he seemed to understand, and took her hand in his own and smiled on her. He moved, then, to stand beside her, and circled her shoulder with his arm, and together they looked at the path ahead that they were yet to travel.
And in that moment she saw a glimpse of what was still to come along the way – saw that there would be more battles, more heartache and loss, more victory and joy. More laughter and healing, and there, in the far-off distance, she thought she glimpsed the turrets of a mighty castle, perhaps with colorful banners and pennants snapping in the wind.
He said nothing, her knight, but he did not need to, because she understood.
The journey would continue, and she would love, and she would grow, and she would serve.
Never alone, fully loved, gifted and needed, and most of all, daily rescued.
Questions for Group or Individual Use
Part I
Was there ever a time in your life when you felt “in the dungeon”? Were you desperate for escape, or did you eventually lose hope?
Have you experienced being set free? Were you able to embrace the freedom immediately, or did you feel unworthy?
The knight assures the girl that she needn’t “clean up first,” that she will “grow cleaner as we go.” How does this make you feel about your own life?
How difficult is it for you to believe that there is Someone who loves you just as you are?
Part II
Do you believe that you were “made for the sunlight”?
Have you faced a fork in the road, where you could have chosen an easier path, a path with more pleasures and fewer challenges? Does this path also lead to the kingdom?
What is the danger in focusing too much on the more of life that we find outside the dungeon?
What is the outcome of taking the easier path?
Part III
Even before she makes her choice, the knight warns the girl that in choosing the harder path of the ridge, there will be even more hardships. Why do you think he warns her in this way?
Once she makes her choice, she joins others in various stages of “growing clean.” How have you seen this to be true in your life?
How is it that the King loves her, when she has never done anything for Him? Do you find this difficult to believe in your own life?
Do you react to this struggle to believe His love in the same way as the girl – by making sure you stay busy serving and doing, to ensure the King will be pleased with you?
Have you found that your busyness in serving, or perhaps your kindness, results in the commendation of others? How does that make you feel? Is there a danger in this?
What would change in your life if you were able to truly see that the Knight’s love for you did not change according to how much you did for Him? That it could not change, because it was always complete?
Part IV
Even with the knowledge that she is fully loved, the girl struggles to get free of the striving to earn love. Has this been your experience?
Have you ever understood that you could come every day, to hear again and again, that you are fully loved and accepted?
How would it change the way you love others, the way you serve, if you fully understood this truth every day?
Have you ever been used to free a friend from a web of lies?
Do you see that you are needed for this task? What if you feel unworthy?
In what way is being given a battle to fight another type of rescue?
Part V
Is the journey of rescue always promised to be easy?
Have you experienced suffering that seemed to have no purpose?
What do you do when there are no answers for the suffering you experience?
How hard is it to remain close to the knight during these times? To trust?
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