The Road Less Traveled

One day I decided to go to the park.  I had this overwhelming need to 'escape' so I donned my walking shoes and off I went.  I walked at such a rapid speed as one does when they are on a mission to escape (from themselves, their thoughts) so I was a little disappointed when I saw my time and realized that apparently it doesn't matter how quickly I think I am going it still takes about the same time.

As I walked, I prayed, as I usually do but this time it was with desperation as I cried out for some answers.  The beauty of my park does something to the soul.  It calms ... it heals ... it is a plethora of lessons to be learned.

Suddenly I came to "it" ... the fork in the road.  I was in a relationship before where we talked about the pathway/our pathway a lot as we considered where we were on the pathway.  Sometimes you get really excited, thinking you're nearly at the spot where you can enjoy all that God has to offer ... only as you get closer, you realize it was just a bend in the road.  Sometimes we felt like we came to a storm over a section of the pathway but we knew that if we kept walking the sun would soon light up the path again.  Other times we had to walk through sections of the pathway alone, with God ... where there once were three, there were now only two.  

Many conversations and many lessons were learned on our pathway so as I stood at the fork in the road, knowing that I had always gone to the left, where most people went, I decided that today I would take the road less traveled.  Now usually when you think about a fork in the road, the pathways lead in two very opposite directions.  That was not the case here.

                                              This is how my pathway normally looks

                                               This is how it seemed in my mind

The road less traveled took longer than my original path.  It was rough, it was treacherous and I spent most of it wrapped in cobwebs and as I was praying about the pathway of life I also found myself praying that there wasn't a huge old spider in my hair.  As I neared the end, I realized that both pathways merged and I found myself in the same spot I would have been in had I taken the pathway already cleared.  

Sometimes we think the road most traveled is the best way to go ... but that one isn't without it's problems.  There are people (which can be good or bad on certain days), the horses travel that path so you need to watch where you step and sometimes there are bumps or pits along the way.

Many times we want to find the easy way ... we want that relationship ... we want that promotion ... we want that scholarship ... but sometimes the lessons are learned as we trip over roots and stumble down a pathway that many haven't traveled and trampled smooth yet.  As I walked I thought about the many stories in the Bible where they had to wait a long time for the desires of their heart.  When they got impatient and acted on their own they were filled with heartache.  I decided that all I needed to do was be obedient.  I don't have to have it all figured out.  God knows me better than I know myself.  He knows my needs ... He knows my desires and he cares about it all.  He may ask me to wait and be still ... or he may send me on a different pathway entirely.  All I know is that I can fully trust the story He's writing.

I tried out several "forks" that day ... some by choice ... some, well, because I turned the wrong way and logged many miles that day but as I made my way back to the picnic area and rested in the delightfully cool breeze I was thankful.  The cobwebs in my mind were cleared, although I was still pulling them off my body but I realized that as much as I don't enjoy lessons in patience ... I am so glad He's patient with me.  I know He must look at me and just smile and shake his head many times at the situations I find myself in but He loves me anyway!

 You Love Me Anyway

The Road Less Traveled

Until next time ... Don't fear the road less traveled ... there's lessons to be learned!