Off course

While in Florida this past week, I started a re-read of "Lord of the Rings." I think this will be my sixth reading of the books, but it's amazing how it never gets tiresome. The story is always rich and I always seem to find some new detail that brings me joy. Anyway, this re-read will probably trigger a rash of Tolkien-themed pots, so prepare yourselves. You've been warned.
Anyway, to set the scene: the Hobbits have just fled the Shire, ducking into the Old Forest to evade the pursuit of the black riders. They know the forest is dangerous, but believe they can make it through if they keep their wits about them, set a direction of travel and don't dally. Of course, that doesn't quite work out.

"At first their choice seemed to be good: they got along at a fair speed, though whenever they got a glimpse of the sun in an open glade they seemed unaccountably to have veered eastwards. But after a time the trees began to close in again, just where they had appeared from a distance to be
thinner and less tangled. Then deep folds in the ground were discovered unexpectedly, like the ruts of great giant-wheels or wide moats and sunken roads long disused and choked with brambles. These lay usually right across their line of march, and could only be crossed by scrambling down and out again, which was troublesome and difficult with their ponies. Each time they climbed down they found the hollow filled with thick bushes and matted undergrowth, which somehow would not yield to the left, but only gave way when they turned to the right; and they had to go some distance along the bottom before they could find a way up the further bank. Each time they clambered out, the trees seemed deeper and darker; and always to the left and upwards it was most difficult to find a way, and they were forced to the right and downwards."

This continues for a while, until the four Hobbits end up exactly where they didn't want to be: the Heart of the Old Forest. There, the magic and enchantment of the forest are strongest, and they soon find themselves in peril. Old Man Willow snatches Merry and Pippin, and Frodo and Sam's attempts to help them prove fruitless.
Isn't this just like our lives and our walks of faith? I can't put a number on the amount of times I've believed myself fully capable of doing something on my own, only to find myself hopelessly off course. We may set out on a course of action with the best intentions, but when we are reliant on ourselves we often drift farther and farther off course.
And more often than not we're not lured off course drastically. It happens one little bit at a time – just like the Hobbits found themselves slowly and unaccountably veering East. But they didn't stop – they kept going, perhaps thinking they could correct the course on their own.
The world lures us in similar ways. Take "stuff" as an example. As we graduate from college and enter into the working world, we go (hopefully) from being poor college students to having a job with a salary. And we can use that salary to get all kinds of stuff – furniture, DVDs, surround sound systems, cars, ships in bottles – you name it. Our appetite for stuff is temporarily sated, and we think we have enough. But we get used to those things. And maybe one day we get a raise. All of a sudden, we can afford nicer stuff. And why not? We've earned it, right? So we get the nicer things. We get accustomed to those, too, and our slow drift off course continues until one day we open our eyes and realize: we're not in the place we intended to be when we first set out!
The same happens to the Hobbits. They find themselves at the River Withywindle, the heart of the forest's strangeness. They soon find themselves in trouble, and Merry and Pippin are taken by Old Man Willow. Frodo and Sam try to help, but can't rescue their friends. Then Frodo takes an unexpected action:

"Frodo, without any clear idea of why he did so, or what he hoped for, ran along the path crying help! help! help! It seemed to him that he could hardly hear the sound of his own shrill voice: it was blown away from him by the willow-wind and drowned in a clamour of leaves, as soon as the words left his mouth. He felt desperate: lost and witless."

How often have we felt as Frodo did: lost and helpless in a world that is constantly trying to throw us off course. And when we reach that desperation, what do we do? We cry for help! And there is an answer!
Frodo's answer comes from Tom Bombadil (a mysterious figure who isn't worth delving into in depth in this post, because it would take far too many words), who – by some divine mistake or providence – claims he just happened to be in the neighborhood. Tom rights the wrongs, gets the Hobbits back on their feet and sets them back on the path with clear direction. The Hobbits escape the peril.
When we find ourselves off course, we too should ask for help – because it will come. And instead of being self-reliant, believing ourselves strong and capable enough to set our own course through life, we should ask for help before we find ourselves hopelessly lost and in trouble. And where does our help come from?

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
- Psalm 121:1-2

The Lord will rescue us, put us back on our feet and set us on the right path.

"And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left."
- Isaiah 30:21

Here's to staying on course.