Lessons in the Forest

Seeing as I have some really good (my own opinion of course) older blog posts on my myspace account I decided that on the off day that I can't think of anything amazing to write, I would repost those thoughts here. This post is from April 2008. If you haven't read it before, I hope you enjoy.

So our Smoky Mountain adventure is drawing to a close and I have almost survived Josh’s first attempt at writing a book. We have so much alone time it’s almost nerve-wracking. I don’t know what to do with my time. That’s a good thing though. So Emari and I went on a walk in the woods today. We started out at the park visitor center. The hike was described as an easy 45 minute hike with a few steep hills. With that depiction I decided to keep the baby in her stroller. It was beautiful. A little rainy but it made the forest seem more magical. The road was easy going until we hit the first bridge, pick up the stroller and roll on. Then another bridge. Okay, let’s keep going. Then the hill got really steep, no big deal. Except for the fact that I seem to have purchased the only stroller known to mankind to have a heat seeking device which causes it to search out and get tangled in every exposed root on the trail. With much struggling and strength of will, I reached the top. All along, Emari was singing and reaching out for little branches that crossed her path. She only fussed when I stopped at the crest of the hill to catch my breath. Finally we reached a cabin with some other people. I busied myself with pretending to read my trail guide. I didn’t want them to think I was stupid for pushing a stroller up that mountainside.

It was then that the thoughts came, should I turn back now? What if the next hills were even steeper? What if there were more people who would look at me like I was crazy? I knew the road that led back. Then I heard the Voice. Amber, this is like your life. What? That’s it I’m pressing onward. The voice kept on. The road is sometimes steep, there are times that you will be pushing others onward, people who really don’t even understand your sacrifice or the effort behind your struggle. There will be those along the way that don’t see why you even bother coming this way, with all that you’re bringing along with you. So I pushed forward, more resolutely seeking the end of the trail. Along the way I stopped to read my guide and saw these words, "Perhaps the wonder of creation is most apparent in the small things at our feet." Wow, God! Are you talking to me? Had I gotten caught up in the struggle and failed to see the beauty that was around me? Like my Joshua says, "You’ve got one life, one chance at it. Live!"

How much do we miss about God by complaining about the way. Even in the struggle, there was so much beauty surrounding me and Emari. She could see it from her vantage point, but I was distracted. As we neared the end of our trek in the woods we came upon some turkeys. It was so amazing to see them up close and in the wild. God is so perfect in His revealing to us about Himself. When the distractions had been removed I could see His hand leading me. I know for me it is so easy to get caught up in the life, that I fail to really live.

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