I'm going on a bear hunt

I was at a service (at Holy Trinity Twydall) when the Vicar Ali, said she had a modern, outrageously controversial, ground breaking story about God. Well you can imagine I was on the edge of my seat! At which point, she pulled out "I'm going on a bear hunt" by Michael Rosen. I knew this story well, after years of working with children, but if you don't know it I've copied it below.

We're going on a bear hunt!

We're gonna catch a big one!

I'm not afraid!

Are you?

Not me!

Here comes the gate
Now we're on a bear hunt
We're gonna catch a big one

I'm not afraid
Are you?

Not me!

We're coming to a tall mountain
It sure is high
It sure is wide
Let's climb up it
Well, there's nothing over there
Nothing over there
Nothing back there
Hey! Wait! I think I see something
Quick! Everybody run down!

We're going on a bear hunt!
We're gonna catch a big one!

I'm not afraid!
Are you?
Not me!

We're going thru the tall grass
We're going thru the short grass
Hey! Look! There's a little tree
Well, let's shinny on up it
Whoa! It gets a little skinny up here at the top
See anything over that way?
Anything over that way?, Uh, oh!,
Oh, no! Whoa! Agh! let's get down!

We're going on a bear hunt!
We're gonna catch a big one!

I'm not afraid!
Are you?
Not me!

Oh, no!
It's a big puddle of mud
Can't go around it
Gotta go right thru it
Yeuk!
Well, let's go.
Squish, Sqwish, Blaaahh.

We're going on a bear hunt!
We're gonna catch a big one!

I'm not afraid!
Are you?
Not me!

We're coming to a wide river

And there's no bridge going over it
No tunnel going under it

It's just plain old water
And we're gonna have to swim
All right, dive in!
Start swimming
Do the back stroke
Do the side stroke
Do the doggie paddle
Try the little cat paddle
OK Jump out, shake yourself off

We're going on a bear hunt!
We're gonna catch a big one!

I'm not afraid!
Are you?
Not me!

Shhh, it's a cave
Looks like the kind of cave that B-bears live in
I don't know if I want to go in there
You think we oughta go in?
Are you nuts?

There's probably a bear in there
All right I'll go in, You stay here,
And if I find a bear, I'll come out and get you
And we'll all go in and grab him together
Now, quiet, don't make a sound while I'm in that cave,
Cuz if you wake him up, I'll be in trouble
Bears are awful ornery when they first wake up, you know
OK, I'm going on in
Oooo, It's dark in here
It's really dark in here
I can't see a thing
Agh, there's spiders webs
Ooo, what was that???
What's this??.... it's soft, uh oh,it's kind of fuzzy

Ahg!!!!!!!!! Run! Everybody run!!
I saw a bear!!!!
Jump in the water! Swim fast!!
Do the backstroke!
The sidestroke, the doggie paddle
Jump out of the water
Run through the mud!
Forget the tree!!
Go through the tall grass
The short grass
Quick! Go up the mountain
Down the other side
Go through the gate
Into the house, under the bed
Under the pillow
Hide!!!!!
Uh, it's awful quiet around here
I'm not afraid
Are you?

 A lovely story for children, but what does it have to do with me, or even God?

Ali then proceeded with a very brief talk; so brief it only lasted a few sentences but got me thinking for hours.

In our life, and our path to find God, are we not all taken by the obstacles? High mountains to climb, long and short grass to wade through, wide rivers and even dark caves to with which to persevere? It is our choice if we go around them, over them, under them or through them. We even have the choice to stand still.

Do we all, as the children have in the story, find the path behind us far easier when looking back (Or in their case when they are running back, with apparent ease given the difficulty the obstacles gave them to first get past)?

And finally, when you are at the end of the path, when you find your bear, will you be confident enough to stand there without looking back, without fear, without wanting to hide, without wanting to run back from where you came? Will you run back into your past?

Or, will you be able to face Him?