My mind and my heart love a good hike in the mountains. (not anything too crazy). My body doesn’t cooperate. I am clumsy and out-of-shape. Recently my daughter, Missy, and I took a trip to the mountains, where I knew we would be hiking. On our way I stopped and purchased some trekking poles.
As we walked along a trail called “Lover’s Leap” there were times when the way was rocky. I used the poles to steady myself. I leaned on them for support when taking big steps up or big steps down. I figured out how to test the steadiness of the rocky, uneven ground with the poles first, then place my feet accordingly. There were several times when, if not for those poles, I would have been flat on my face on that trail. When I was weary and out-of-breath, I leaned on the poles until I was ready to move on.
As I navigated the difficult-for-me trail with the assistance of these poles I thought about how life is like that rocky trail. Sometimes, during the difficult parts, I need help knowing where to put my foot in the next step. Often, during big life-steps, I need something to lean on to steady me. When day-to-day troubles have me weary and out-of-breath, I need some support to rest on until I can move on.
As I progressed down the “Lover’s Leap” trail, I thought about how God provides real-life-trekking poles. When big rocks show up in the middle of our trail, we can lean on His promises and His faithfulness. When we are not sure of our next step, we can turn to His word for instruction. When there’s a steep climb ahead, He will sustain us. When we are weary and out-of-breath, He is our strength.
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
(Psalm 121:1-8) NIV