Well-Worn Paths

My wife and I hike at this canyon nearby. We love to get up there, explore nature's majesty and breathe the fresh air (FYI - Angelenos have approx. 15% diminished lung capacity from the air quality).

We have an amazing time together.

We love to enjoy the beautiful weather while hiking, walking, jogging, laughing, praying and dreaming on our little journeys.

At this one particular canyon we hike regularly, the majority of hikers, Meg and myself included, stay on the main path - a huge, 10-foot wide, dirt path that is large enough for emergency and service vehicles.

Occasionally, however, I like to explore these little side trails. Not many people journey on these. They are off the well-worn paths - the road not taken, if you will ... or, in this case, the road less taken.

Now, by way of biographical information, I should tell you: I'm not much of an "adventurer" in the traditional Indiana-Jones-sense of the word. I don't like "nature" per se. I'm not a fan of bugs, spiders, creepy-crawlers, etc. I fight allergies. I don't even like it when my hands feel like they have that layer of dirt on them for an extended period of time. And you know the layer I'm talking about: that invisible, I-can't-see-it-but-I-know-it's-there-because-I've-been-working-outside-picking-up-dirty-stuff-and-it's-been-too-long-since-I've-washed-my-hands-so-I-can't-even-think-about-picking-up-a-piece-of-food-until-I-get-some-hand-soap! kind of layer of dirt. (yes, I may be a little OCD, thank you very much)

Yet, occasionally, I listen to that inner adventurer and trek to the road less taken. Just recently, I even went off the road less taken and forged a completely new path. As far as I could tell, I was on soil untouched by another human. There was something unique, something wild, something passionate in what I was doing. I prayed, I worshiped God. I stood in awe of His creation, the works of His hands... and I wondered to myself, "is this the life we were created to live?"

The life of an adventurer, an explorer, a discoverer.

How often do we go where so many others have gone before (I can almost hear Captain Kirk's voice), following the well-worn paths, instead of forging new ones? In every aspect of our lives (work, home, family, church, etc.), I think we should push ourselves beyond the limitations of what we have always done and what others before us have always done, and seek out the adventure of life waiting to be explored!

I don't know - these are just thougths... perhaps you and I need to re-awaken the adventurer within us...

And the amazing thing about this adventure is: with God, our quest can start at any age. We're never too old, never too far, never too tired for the Spirit to quicken and make alive our mortal bodies for the adventure that awaits - the journey of exploring God's divine destiny!

“Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson