Following God's Trail by Lorilee Guenter

 I stood at the trail head looking at the map, a decision to be made. Is this the path I want to hike? The map gives a general guide to what the experience will be as lakes and rivers are marked. The geography  of the area gives more clues. 

Do you know you write well? The question invited a decision. The way forward is vague, however, like on the trail others have walked this way. There are many options as faith and words combine. One trail leads to poetry, another to novels. Some trails cross over and combine many types in a "mixed geography." As with the trail, I chose to take the first steps in honing my skills.

One recent memorable hike combined forest and rock of the Canadian Shield. From the top of the rock rise, you can look over the trees and survey the surroundings. The vistas are amazing. To get there involved climbing over boulders and around trees that clung to the rock, their roots anchored in cracks and crevasses. The beauty became evident before we reached the top, but if we stopped we would only have a taste of what could be. In my writing life and in life in general, I am often tempted to stop before the top. I settle for the taste instead of the abundant feast. That particular climb we made was not easy but it was worth it. As God leads me through the obstacles that threaten to stop me, I need to look forward to what He has to show me along the way.

There is no water at the top of the rocks. The sun beat down and reflected back. The beauty, while amazing, can only be enjoyed for a short time before we must follow the path in front of us to a place of refreshment, to the still waters and green pastures (Ps. 23). The climb back down has its own obstacles. It takes trust to keep going, to continue on to the next place, to the next project God has prepared. In the descent, it was evident how the anchoring rock remains under the soil and vegetation of the forest. We can remain anchored, and indeed need to remain anchored, to have the strength to continue.

On our hike we passed through forest before and after the climb. On a hot summer day the shade of the trees offered a welcome break from the intense rays of the sun. The trail through the forest was well marked by those who walked that way before, yet obstacles remain. Roots running across the path trip the unobservant. Side trails can lead you off course. Fallen trees block the way, although hiking buddies can help each other scramble over them.

I have never undertaken a hike alone. Nor do I live my faith and writing journey alone. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses [Heb. 12:1], those who have and are walking with us. My faith and my writing are strengthened as I learn from others. They help me to throw off what holds me back as I learn from them and am encouraged by them.

Enjoying time on top of the rock

The first time we did that hike, we skirted around the overlook. We knew that there was more at the top than we had found but heat made us turn back. Before we left the area, we tried once more. As a result, we sat on the rock ridge and looked west over the forest and lake to see the beginning of the sunset, a gift of beauty. If I press on and don't skirt around the lookouts ahead of me, I have no doubt that gifts designed and given by God await.

Finding the Words Through the Fog - Denise M. Ford

For the past eighteen months I have struggled to regain some remnant of myself. Like the woman of Proverbs 31:25-26 I have longed to simply stand in “strength and dignity,” to “laugh with no fear of the future,” to “speak forth with words of wisdom and kindness.”  Instead instability and awkwardness have been my surprising companions following a concussion, otherwise known as a traumatic brain injury. 

I tried to stay positive, using the term “surprising” and not “frustrating” to describe the annoying way that the resulting brain shut-down threw its heavy cloak over me. Oh surprise! Continuing my work as a church administrator brought on double vision and horrendous vertigo. Oh surprise! Grocery shopping required wearing dark glasses so I could hide amidst the aisles, pretending to find something while in fact I was lost in a fog of anxiety. Oh surprise! Concentrating on a conversation or pulling thoughts forward for reasonable discourse meant I needed to take a break to regain any sense of normalcy. 

Eventually I relinquished my job at the church to focus on my recovery.  I had to reimagine my life from one whose purpose entailed helping and encouraging others, to one who herself required support. Surprise! I had to struggle to find my way out of days in which my only goal seemed to be: what do I let go of today?

Pre-concussion, I had taught different Bible studies, writing devotions to give more meaningful interpretations of what we were studying. Now I found I could not handwrite or be on a computer for more than 30 minutes at a time. After that surprising mental workout, I needed to rest and regroup to allow my brain time to refocus itself.

Forward to this November, as I am finally regaining the endurance to provide encouragement to others. My fear of the future wavers between, “Oh what will the surprise be today?”  to “How will I provide meaningful joy to others?”  Like the woman of Proverbs 31, I have begun to laugh again. To set goals despite the obstacle of my brain trauma, and to trust in the wisdom and kindness that will guide word after word as I put pen to paper. This month as I determined to write again a new desire awakened inside of me.  I realized I still wanted to believe that God spoke clearly and loudly within me.  As I wrote I heard these words:

“Here, here I am giving you the thoughts, the ideas, the intricate way of processing life in beautiful metaphors.  Here I am placing it firmly within your grasp and waiting, waiting for you to trust me, to let go of your fears, to let go of your prescribed outline of what and where you should be and how you should be serving Me.  Here, here I am giving you the starting line.  Will you step over it?  Will you trust Me and walk on the path I have cleared for you?  Here I am giving you the courage, the perseverance you need to continue on the path.  Here I am providing everything, everything. Here this is where you begin.  Will you trust me, will you move forward? Will you let go and wholeheartedly let me lead you?”

My response, though still somewhat limited by indiscriminate avalanches of brain fog: “Lord, as You have called me to do, I stand firm in my faith and trust in You, as I seek the words you would have me speak.”