Paths

How did we meet?  Do you remember?  When did our paths first cross?  Are our paths still one, or side by side or distant but within calling distance? Are we continually helping each other up along the way, or have we moved on that we don't really know what's going on with each other?

Or are you a "stalker"?  Are you watching my life without being involved (aka reading my blog and I don't know it)?  I know there are some people like that for me.

What do you remember about our time together on the path?

I've been doing a lot of thinking about life's journey, in particular mine and yours; well, at least how it relates to mine.  I believe we each have a path with a destination, and I believe that many times our paths cross.  Sometimes they cross just once, a quick intersection.  Other times, our paths parallel each other for a long time.  There have been times that my path has crossed another traveler's path more than once.  Some of you I feel like I have made my path stick close to yours because once I found you, I refuse to lose sight of you.  Many of you, if not most, I never expected to find or "run into" - you were a complete surprise, while others were just always there.

I've thought about you.  Yes, you.  I can bet that I can pick out where on my path that either we first met or when we last met.   Each of you have helped me on my path, somehow.  Perhaps you didn't think or realize you were helping, but somehow you helped me back to my destination.

So, what does my path look like?  A lot like this:

Where are we going?  That depends.  Where do you want to go?  I believe that the Lord has a specific destination in mind for us as well, but we get to choose how we get there and if we even end up there.  Lately I'm finding out more and more that I always end back to where the Lord wants me to be.
 

Sometimes, it looks a lot like this:

A lot of forest, no path.  Usually, I get to this point and realize I've made a wrong turn.  Other times, I realize that the Lord is telling me that it's time for me to blaze my own path for a while.  Once in a while, there's a ginormous boulder blocking the path.  Sometimes I chip away with an ice pick, other times I have an army lifting and pushing it out of the way helping me.  You are that army.

I've been wondering about my path lately.   Once in a while I realize that I was meant to travel a path but not to the destination that I was expecting.  My end goal is still the same but the pit stops along the way change.  I admit that there are pit stops and road blocks that terrify me, that weary me, that frustrate me.  Some days I sit and cry.  However much I loathe these, they shape me.

Right now, I'm on a path that is blinded by the trees.  I'm not exactly sure where I'm supposed to go, but I keep trudging.  I pray to have an answer, and I stop and listen frequently lately.  I do a lot of looking, peering around corners, wishing I had binoculars.   Lately, I feel like someone is throwing rocks, trying to hold me back, making me angry, and losing focus.  The rocks are sometimes large enough that I have to chuck them out of the way, or ice pick them to death.

Every day, though, I'm grateful for the company on my path.  When I feel alone, all I have to do is holler, and I find someone near.  Someone usually answers my call.  Thank you, all of you, for helping me on my path.  I only hope I can help you on yours the same way you've helped me.