How’s Your Walk?
May 3, 2021
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
There are many weekends when Remi and I come home from walking that I’m asked, “How was your walk?” I often answer by showing whoever asked the photos I took, or sharing the thoughts I had, or sometimes I just answer, “It was nice.” This weekend I went on a hike with my daughter and thought about how going on a hike is a lot like maneuvering through life.
We climbed almost 800 ft in elevation to the top of a beautiful spot where we looked out over the Pacific Ocean. It felt great to have made it to the top, but the 45 minute hike on the trail wasn’t without some challenges. On the way to our destination we walked uphill on dusty trails, sidestepped large rocks in our path, balanced on small boulders to cross the low-level stream due to the minimal rainfall that fell this winter. We admired the beauty of a trickling waterfall and the yellow wildflowers that lined the path and provided a lively contrast of color to the blackened trunks of oak trees that were damaged by a wildfire that went through the area a few years ago. During our ascent, we commented on how well the trails were laid out and maintained. As we walked, my daughter remarked how much better it would have been if she had shoes with more traction that were made for hiking, and I realized how helpful a hiking stick would have been to help stabilize the descent in some steep areas. Not being avid hikers, and only going on a short hike, when we arrived at the top we realized we had hastily left without taking any water with us. Were we able to complete the hike without the proper tools and provisions? Yes, it all worked out fine, but it would have been easier and safer if we had hiked with the necessary equipment.
And that’s when I thought about how hiking is much like navigating life. We can go through life without God, but it is so much better when we acknowledge him and let him be our guide and “hiking” partner. He goes before us and prepares a path for us to take. Sometimes we stay on his path and at others we wander off it into the unchartered wild, exploring on our own. When we go off the path, we risk getting lost or turned around, we might encounter hazardous terrain we hadn’t expected or brush up against poisonous plants that could give us a painful reaction. He clears the way, providing safe passage through the wild, but the clear path he has prepared doesn’t always stay the way he had designed it to be. Since nature is always changing, boulders may come down from hillsides and land in our way. Trees can come down in a windstorm and obstruct our passage. If the path isn’t well-maintained, branches, erosion, and invasive plants can impede the path that had been planned. The beautiful path can be altered by nature’s freewill. Life travels on a similar path. It isn’t without its twists and turns, uphill climbs and difficult descents as we try to find our footholds. The barriers of challenge and boulders of disappointment get in our way, and gushing waterfalls of success and achievement can turn into a trickling stream in the face of the drought of creativity, motivation, and perseverance. Fires of loss and ill health can come and ravage the beauty around us, but after the fire has passed, the ashes seem to fertilize the soil and allow beautiful flowers to poke up out of the devastation, providing glimpses of beauty, hope, and joy in our life once again.
As we go through life, letting God be our guide as we travel makes the journey more satisfying. We may not understand the path God has laid before us, but with him beside us, we can trust that we will never be alone and that he will have his hand there for us to grab on to when we come upon a difficult portion of the trail. As you go on your journey, don’t be hasty in your preparation. Be sure you don’t forget to take along the essential equipment; your relationship with Christ will be like good hiking shoes - he will provide firm footing and will always be with you every step of the way, prayer will be your walking stick - it will give you support and stability as you encounter difficult terrain, and Scripture will be your source of water - it will bring you spiritual nourishment when you need it most.
How’s your walk?
