Success and Distress

Journal 2005 09 24

“…the pleasure I now felt in having tryumphed over the rocky Mountains and decending once more to a level and fertile country where there was every rational hope of finding a comfortable subsistence for myself and party can be more readily conceived than expressed, nor was the flattering prospect of the final success of the expedition less pleasing.” Meriwether Lewis, September 22, 1805 upon his arrival at the first Nez Perce village after his last long descent from the heart of the Rockies. Can you hear the renewed hope in these words? Even though Clark and his men had peacefully met and passed through this village, all the women and children had abandoned the village in fear and were hiding from this larger band of newcomers. Remember, all the able bodied men were away warring against a neighboring tribe.

The hunters have been able to find some game and the men are able to rest, eat and gain strength. Captain Clark warned all of them against eating too much salmon and camas roots that the Indian women are harvesting and storing for winter. No one must have listened. Virtually everyone is suffering intestinal distress. Some of the men are so uncomfortable, I read it to mean bloated and cramping, that they are laying on their sides at the edge of the trail unable to move! Never were these soldiers more vulnerable than now.

It must have been a scraggly group that emerged from those mountains. The men traded for animal skins to make new shirts. Clark “despatched” Colter back to find some lost horses and retrieve some shot left they left behind. The shot was a cleverly designed and executed method of preserving their gunpowder while providing lead for the round lead balls their rifles fired. Lead canisters about the size of a large coffee can were filled with gunpowder and the lead lid was sealed. The gunpowder contained was the perfect amount for the number of lead balls that could be made from the lead container. It proved to be one of their best innovations. And one of their heavier ones. I’ve read that each canister weighed about seventy pounds. The legal weight limit for your UPS driver and most garbage cans. No wonder “some shot” got left behind! I’m trying real hard not to speak too much of future events as we take this parallel walk with our intrepid travelers, however, I will reveal that the party never ran short of lead and powder.

What strikes me again today is the good fortune that met the men at the end of their great battle against nature and their human frailties. Captain Lewis commented on their “greatly reduced state” and he had set his mind to complete a “forced march” to end this grueling portion of their westward push. They must have been a ragged looking group that stumbled out of the mountains. Imagine what fate they may have met had the warriors of the Nez Perce been in camp! Circumstances allowed for women, children and old men to meet, feed and care for them.

What do we expect when we are weak and frail? When we are worn out by the hardships of life? Do we expect to meet warriors or caregivers? God sends both. Warriors, not to attack and destroy us, but to protect us. He sends angels to care for us. Are you feeling weak and vulnerable, worn out by your journey? Seek God and His kingdom for protection and care. He tells us that when we are weak that He is strong. God reminds us frequently that He ”is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Do you know trouble today, do you need a safe place to run to? Have you reached the end of your own strength? Call out His Name and seek shelter in His strong tower of righteousness. He sent His son to bear all of your burdens and infirmities if you will but call on His Name. The God of All Comfort awaits you now.