Happy Wednesday Everyone! We are getting down to the end, only one more chapter left! I have so enjoyed this journey with you. I hope that White Heart has inspired you and has left a mark on your heart.  I would love for you to share this story with a friend, to pass along the wonderful journey that God allowed me to write and use to inspire many hearts along with mine.

But on we go, to chapter 32! Madeleine must prepare herself for possible death at the hands of the Iroquois. When she arrived as a captive at the Oswego camp, she had four days and four nights of solitude to prepare herself for whatever the Iroquois Chief decided was her outcome.In this chapter she learns that she is going to have to run the Gauntlet the next day.The Gauntlet is an Indian punishment to test the spirit of the person running the village line.  About two hundred tribal members line up in two rows about six feet apart, and are permitted to attack the runner with weapons,  rocks, rotten fruit, and screams as the person races through the alley of people.  The Indians want to observe the courage and physical strength of the warrior.  The captive simply wants to survive the run.I believe that the Gauntlet is a metaphor for the narrow and difficult paths that we have to face in life.  At different times during this life’s journey each of us is expected to face a challenge, and press her way through it – hopefully coming out stronger for the test.  At the beginning of the Gauntlet, we can set our mind on whatever it is we value, and proceed with the ordeal with whatever strength we can muster.  Our goal is to survive, and to demonstrate courage, and strength in the meanwhile.  Perhaps the next time you face a challenge, you can picture yourself at the mouth of the Gauntlet, and imagine yourself focusing as you undertake the run.  Of course your goal is to survive.But in what manner do you survive?   That is what White Heart has been about – Madeleine’s run through the Gauntlet, or  -- on an enlarged basis, her journey in New France as she transforms from an inexperience, anxious maiden to a courageous, skilled woman.On Friday I will focus the spot light on Madeleine and how she succeeded in becoming the woman God wanted her to be.  But for today, how does the imagery of the gauntlet affect your perspective on life's trials and struggles?  Do you find yourself just surviving and what does that look like?  What kind of life does God call us to? 

Up Next: Monday's blog post on Chapter 31!

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