Lost and Found

Several years ago we were hiking in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Even though it was summer, there was still quite a bit of snow in the higher elevations that had yet to melt. The trail we were on was fairly easy to follow at first, until the snow got deeper, and there were footprints going in every direction. Luckily there were some other hikers on the trail, and we all kind of found our way to our destination together, not perfectly, losing our way from time to time and having to turn around. Coming back was another story. On our way back, we were alone, and we came to a point where the trail completely disappeared under the snow and we were staring at several different possible routes, all in the middle of the woods. We didn't see or hear any other hikers. We definitely got off path, as I ended up getting stuck in a snow drift that was up to my thighs. Shortly after my traveling companion helped me out of my predicament, I spotted a tree that I recognized. I had taken mental note on our way in of different markers, different trees and areas that had something unique about them, just in case we got lost. My friend was very relieved to hear that! After walking toward that tree, I began to recognize more and more of our surroundings and we eventually found our way out.

Have you ever wandered off path and not realized it until you were stuck; stuck in unfamiliar surroundings, feeling cold and unable to move? It's easy sometimes for us to take our eyes off of God and get off the path. Even though we know there is safety and comfort if we follow the correct path, we cannot help but get distracted and travel down the path that cannot satisfy. Sometimes we follow others, thinking their way seems like the logical path to follow. Other times we follow our own ideas of where our path should be. That is, until we end up stuck in thigh-high snow wondering where we went wrong. It isn't until we find that familiar tree, that image of God, that verse of scripture that we've hidden away in our mind and our heart, that we begin to find our way back, and our surroundings begin to look familiar again.

Praise God that He is always there to redirect us, to find us when we are lost, to draw us close when we stray. Praise God for His abundance of grace and mercy. Praise God for giving us His Word to hide within our hearts for those times when we need to draw nearer to Him.

Questions: Do you feel safety and comfort on the path you are currently on? Or do you feel distracted and lost? Is there a verse of scripture that you can recite to bring you closer to Him in your current situation?