Wednesday 3 October 2012

when your path is bumpy....



Bow Valley Provincial Park

Last week I joined my daughter and her class on a field trip to Kananaskis Country.  It was such a gorgeous fall morning and the kid's eager anticipation of a day playing in water and exploring outdoors was contagious.  I had such a great time.  But truthfully, I'm not the greatest parent volunteer.  While 30 grade 5 students were booting it through the woods at mock speed, probably being chased by a bear or something, I was lagging behind - again! - down on my knees taking photos.

For some reason that day, my eyes were so drawn to the paths, the constantly changing terrain that made the day so interesting.   There were long, flat trails that stretched out before us.  There were winding, curvy parts that wove through dense trees and tall grasses, where we couldn't see around the next bend.


beauty for the soul
For a while, we walked single file along a narrow path that traced the reflective edge of a glassy smooth  mountain pond; a feast for the eyes and the soul. It's nice when the way is flat and smooth. The morning dew had draped the woods in an earthy fall fragrance and all was wet and glistening. Even the striking contrast of perfect stillness with the echoing laughter and hollers of far-away children (whoops! ha ha!) only intensified the beauty surrounding me.

when the way is flat and smooth


But there are always bumps on the path.  Large roots of massive trees studded the trail here and there, causing a downward shift in my focus that day. Bumps do that - they force us to watch where we step, to put our heads down and pay more attention to our footing.  And yes, sometimes we roll an ankle or trip and even fall when the path is rough.   

the bumps
  How is the path you're travelling right now?  Is it smooth and flat?  Are you clipping along at a good pace and moving steadily toward your destination?  Or have you encountered some bumps and had to slow down a bit, watch a little closer?  Maybe your path is strewn with obstacles that make your journey difficult and painfully slow?  Perhaps you're even pushed up against the unyeilding face of a sheer, rocky climb and you don't know how you're going to get up and over it.  Has the path you've followed taken you out on a ridge that plunges steeply on either side and you're trembling inside for fear of falling?  

As I continue on my quest to live a joyful life regardless of circumstances, and I observe joy lived out in the lives of those around me who are facing tremendous adversity, the same thread of gratitude weaves through each life.  It is a theme that pulsates through my soul these days .  Everywhere I turn, I see evidence of joy through gratitude - even in the most difficult of circumstances, and I am deeply humbled.     

I am learning, through my own simple struggles and the pain of so many around me, that when the road gets bumpy and we are forced to put our heads down and pay attention to the path, we are often surprised by treasures hidden along the way.  We have a new focus and we see differently - through the eyes of our souls.  Beauty, just off the beaten path, whispers to catch our attention and calm our anxious hearts.  The quiet that comes in slowing down allows us to hear that still, small Voice urging: "just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Trust.  This is the path I have set before you, walk faithful, slow and purposeful.  Keep your eyes wide open for my gifts, my fingerprints, my creative work around you."



"Keep your eyes open for my heart.
My endless love for you." 


his gift.  his love.  everywhere.
I'd like to share part of post called "Love Your Fate" by a favorite author of mine, Katrina Kennison. (Posted on her blog in Aug 2012) After sharing three true stories of great loss and hardship, she writes:
"Amor fati. I have carried this resonant Latin phrase in my heart all summer.  Love your fate. What a challange this is, when what fate has to offer is not your dream come true but rather broken bones, stupid mistakes, dashed hopes, eviction notices, loss and pain and heartache.  And yet, surely we are shaped as much by dashed hopes as by those that come to pass.  We are strengthened not by the easy stuff, but by what brings us to our knees. And we realize our full potential as human beings as much by losing at the game of life as by winning......The pain of life isn't ever going to disappear.  But perhaps it is in our efforts to open our hearts to accept and work with what life hands us, that we grow our souls.  Day by day as we struggle to carry on in the face of grief and disappointment, we begin to see that even a great setback may contain a gift: the opportunity to discover, through practice, what lies behind sorrow.  'How can we reconcile this feast of losses?' asks poet Stanley Kunitz."  (Katrina Kennison.  Emphasis added)
when we come to a clearing
My longing for all of us is that whether our path is smooth, bumpy or seemingly impossible right now, we call out to the One who knows -who's walked this path just for us and walks beside us now.  May we: 
"THROW OPEN OUR DOORS TO GOD AND DISCOVER AT THE SAME MOMENT THAT HE HAS ALREADY THROWN OPEN HIS DOOR TO US.  (MAY) WE FIND OURSELVES STANDING WHERE WE ALWAYS HOPED WE MIGHT STAND--OUT IN THE WIDE OPEN SPACES OF GOD'S GRACE AND GLORY, STANDING TALL AND SHOUTING OUR PRAISE."  (Romans 5:2  The Message Translation. Parentheses added)

I gladly welcome your stories and insights in the comment section below.


photos © Melody Armstrong





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