During a recent trip to Pennsylvania, my husband and I had the opportunity to hike two very different trails. One was flat. The wide, smooth path wandered through beautiful woods alongside a flowing river. Footing was perfect, there were no plants on the path to scrape and sting, the birds were singing, the sun wandered in and out of the clouds, tiny waterfalls littered the side of the trail…It was absolutely gorgeous. We quickly covered four kilometers with only one tiny little annoyance: The bugs.
The second hike was an exact opposite in every way. We slid our way down a narrow, overgrown, steep path covered in loose gravel. From the bottom of a huge, deep canyon, we crossed a narrow, creaky bridge over a tiny stream, and then we waded our way through fields of fern, wild raspberries, wild strawberries, and unfortunately for us, poison ivy, as we explored a bed of towering but fallen towers, the aftermath of a tornado at Kinzua Bridge. Finally, we had to slip and slide our way back up that loose gravel path to return to our car, and although the entire trail probably didn’t even cover 3 kilometers, we emerged from the canyon bruised, scratched, sunburned and thoroughly exhausted.
The success of a hike in our home, however, is not measured by fatigue, relaxation, scratches and bruises, or even by the distance covered. It is, rather, measured by how many beautiful pictures were taken. I probably took four on the first hike, and my husband took double that many. Forty is a conservative estimate for the number of pictures I took on the second hike, while my husband probably took over a hundred (Aren’t digital cameras wonderful?). In addition to this, we found ourselves raving for days about how much fun we had in that canyon. That steep, slippery trail quickly became a highlight of our trip, while the first hike, largely, went forgotten.
Why?
Because we came away from our first hike with very little “takeaway”. We didn’t have any fantastic memories; there were no moments when we had to rely on God; we didn’t even take very many pictures, because the scenery didn’t warrant it. In fact, the most memorable “take away” was the bug bites! This could not be said of that second hike. Though we emerged from the canyon sore and tired, our muscles and cardiovascular systems were stronger. Though we were sunburned, we soaked up an incredible amount of Vitamin D. Though we were scratched and had certainly touched poison ivy, our skin became tougher and our bodies must have become more resistant to the poison, because we didn’t have any skin reaction from the plant. We had such fun climbing around and photographing the remains of that train bridge that even the upward trail didn’t faze us. In fact, we were exhilarated by the climb.
Our “hikes” through life can sometimes be like our first hike: smooth, level, good footing, peaceful, with only the occasional “bug” to annoy us. More often than not, however, they are much more like our second hike: Steep, slippery and painful. We would likely never choose to start into these “second hike” kinds of trouble; but at the end of the day, when we look back over these “valleys” of our lives, we have to ask ourselves which ones gave us the most takeaway…“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” (Rom. 5:3-5 NLT).
I don’t know about you, but the “takeaway” of endurance, strength of character and hope seem pretty much worth the climb. Don’t wish away the problems. Instead, let God carry you through.
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.”
(To access the entire “Trails” mini-series, please click here.)