One day I was striving forward, kicking stones and leaping over obstacles. I trudged through the unfamiliar jungle, whipping my machete back and forth to cut down the forbidding overgrowth that tried to hold me back. I could hear the rushing water of our meeting place, though I was still a long way off. I could picture the deep green pastures there beside the freshwater stream. Equipped with purpose and power, knowing that my Master waited there for me, having prepared an unbelievable picnic spread under sprawling trees and a tapestry of wildflowers, I fought through the chaos with the knowledge (not just hope) that He was there and that…