Several years ago, while in Tennessee, Tina and I were hiking on a trail. The trail was a 5-mile loop and the sign at the trail head said that it would take 2.5 hours to hike.
I took mental note of that sign and thought to myself, 2.5 hours? At an average pace it would take less than 2 hours to walk 5 miles.
It was not long before I realized why it was going to take 2.5 hours. The trail was loaded with rocks; I mean, rocks, not limestone.
There were trip hazards everywhere. A root would make an appearance here and there. At one point there was a sink hole that was at least 50 feet deep and big enough to fit a smart car.
The entire time we walked, we had our heads down. We did not want to trip or fall into a 50-foot hole.
It was a beautiful day and the temperature was perfect; the sun was bright. But I remember saying to Tina, “I am enjoying our hike, but it would be nice if we could look up and around and see some beauty.”
How much that hike resembles life. If you are like me, too often I get so focused on concerns and trials in my own life that I fail to look up and look around me.
I can look around and see the beauty in the struggle. Maybe I need to slow down and little, come up alongside someone else who, like me, is also experiencing trials.
Paul in 2 Corinthians (1:3-4) speaks about this:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
A few sentences later Paul defines the weight his burden as more than he could bear. Yet he still was able to give us an example of looking around.
He was not just looking at the ground, head down, going through his circumstances. Rather, while he was working through his trials, he was helping others deal with their issues.
What a beautiful example for us to follow!
S.D.G.