Monday, February 20, 2012

The Path

When I pulled into the drive I put the Yukon in park and sat looking at the leaves, thinking how beautiful our drive is in the fall.
Thanks to rural Alabama we have to cross the street to retrieve our mail. I stood there beside the box scanning through the pile of bills and junk mail and just as I was about to close the lid I noticed a trail that headed into the wooded area located behind our box.
I’ve noticed the trail before but this day the colors were not just shades of green so the opening didn’t blend into the forest. This day there was one path with many colors, almost inviting me to enter. I wondered where it led. What was hidden behind the trees? So I did what any inquisitive person would do; I Googled it. Google Maps is extremely cool!!
As expected, the map showed the main road, my drive and our property that lay hidden down our gravel drive with the canopy of branches and leaves, courtesy of our Creator. Across from our drive were the specs representing the two mailboxes, ours and one abandoned box.  Beside the boxes, more obvious than I expected, was the trail leading into the forest to what looked like two small ponds. Small areas around the ponds were cleared of trees and shrubs. The bird’s eye view the map offered looked beautiful.
I had slowed down that day long enough to see the path. When you have chronic pain disorders you have no choice but to slow down. Slowing down means you notice things that you most likely wouldn’t see under other circumstances. You appreciate things that are typically taken for granted.
For some reason I couldn’t get the path out of my thoughts. I recalled throughout my life the numerous paths that I had taken. The proverbial forks-in-the-road. Some paths have led me to lovely places in my life. On the other hand, even though the entry way looked inviting, some turns led me down pathways that were rocky and scary. Ultimately, once down the path I realized the last fork in the road I had made a wrong turn.
Amazingly what I found at the end of the path were forgiveness, love, understanding, and grace. A wrong turn doesn’t mean your journey is over. It means you need to assess your location and decide what path you need to take that will lead you to your final destination. You stay your course. Even if you come upon rocky terrain, you press forward to the prize.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight. 
Proverbs 3:5-6

Love and prayers to all,
Skeeter

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