After church on Sunday, Thomas and I decided to enjoy the beautiful day by going to House Mountain. The next day was Labor Day so we felt we had a little extra time. I knew my kids had gone there with the youth group. It turned out to be a very interesting day with some important object lessons for me.
We began our hike - there was a steep way and an easier way that made a loop. Our plan was to take the easier trail up the mountain and then the steeper, sunnier one down. It turned out that the easy trail was actually a hard trail because of all the obstacles. Our first one was a big tree that had fallen on others, so instead of stepping over one tree you had to climb up on top of several trees, being careful for them not to move. It was about 4 feet off the ground so missing one would have caused a broken leg or ankle. But that turned out to be the easiest obstacle.
The trail continued but it was not well marked. We got to this one place where the trail forked - this happened a lot on this hike. It looked like the fork to the right just went straight up and then disappeared. The fork going straight seemed to be the trail because you could see where it went. So we went on that trail. It just got harder and harder. We had to climb up short hills, but it was very steep and the trail was very sandy, so your foot would easily slip. We got to another down tree, waist high, too high to step over but to low to go under. We could see the horizon so it looked like we were on the way up. It finally just got more and more slippery but you could still see that there was a path. We didn't want to turn back, but finally we were so scared and had almost fallen down the trail several times. We also noticed that we had not seen any people for a while. We decided that we must have gotten off the trail somehow. We couldn't figure where, we had been following the blue trail blazes on trees. We also knew that we would have to go back over all the dangerous places we had climbed. After we passed the most dangerous places we ran into another couple. I usually don't stop to talk to people on a trail, but this time I warned them about our experiences. It was good to have someone else there. They decided to turn back with us. After a really rather short distance we saw a split in the trail, that we recognized as the one that looked like it went straight up. From this direction we could see the trail and then we saw the blaze on the tree where someone had added a little arrow, but the arrow was confusing. This is where we missed the trail.
Now here is the lesson. We were actually lost, on the wrong trail, or what in reality wasn't a trail. It had seemed so right. And the other couple had made the same mistake. Our life journey can sometimes be like this. We are so sure we are right and doing the right thing but can be so lost, so on the wrong trail. We should have turned back way sooner. The signs were there now that we look back - no people, many obstacles, no trail markings, but we kept going on in our own power. We didn't even know we were lost. This is what happens when we try to go through life on our own power. We figured that we went about an hour following the wrong trail, 30 minutes each way. It took us that long to realize something was wrong. But I think God sends us people along the way to get us back when we are lost. People that will help us question about the rightness of the trail. Just like the couple on the trail today.
The whole time we were lost and didn't know it, I wasn't scared that we were lost. I was scared that we were going to fall down the mountain. We did have a cell phone and good coverage. Being lost didn't scare me, it didn't even enter my mind. We knew we just had to retrace our steps, but it was the danger of the steps that was caused me to be afraid.
Another interesting thing, is that right when we met Mike and Peggy, the other couple who were also lost, Meredith called on our cell phone. I knew she had been on the trail several times when she was in high school, and I had just thought about calling her. She said it was a steep trail but did not ever remember it being as dangerous as the trail we were on. I think this let me know for sure that we were on the wrong trail.
So the four of now got back to the split in the trail where we took the wrong turn. Now we could see the trail and there was a little arrow added to the blue blaze. We just missed that before because the trail up looked so wrong and the wrong trail looked so right. So we continued on the right trail instead of going back down to our car. It was a shame to get that far and not get to the top. We also felt much more secure with another couple - 4 instead of 2. Yet another lesson. God made us to help each other. Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12.
We continued on to the top. It was a hard climb and there were still some slick spots, but they were easier to navigate now that we knew we were on the right trail. There were also more people that we passed along the way to let us know we were on the right trail. The view from the top was wonderful.
We decided to also go back the easy trail, since it was hard enough, even though it was much longer then the steep trail. We made it back, safe, but dirty and dusty from the trail. The first thing I did at the bottom was to stop and get the dirt off my shoes and the rocks out. We told our traveling companions good by and went into Knoxville for supper at Panera bread and of course a coke Icee on the way home. We were exhausted. Thomas went straight to the chair. I went straight to the shower to wash off my dirty shoes and feet. As I rinsed the grime off I thought of the Uncommon Woman book we are reading in my Sunday school class and the image she used of the dirt that must have been in the pan as Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. For you see I had on my Keen sandals and that is why my feet were so dirty. The disciples feet must have been that way too for they wore sandals. I thought again how dirty that water must have been and how wonderful it was to have clean feet and shoes. Jesus does the same for us. He washes our feet and makes us clean. What an act of love and how good it feels to be clean.
So now I am sitting in my sunroom, listening to the wonderful hymn arrangements from the Our Daily Bread CDs and just enjoying so much being safe and quiet and still. God has given me so many beautiful gifts today - this beautiful day with clear, blue skies and temperatures in the upper 70's and lower 80's, the beautiful view from the top of the mountain, traveling companions, and my wonderful Thomas.
Thank you, Father, for the lessons of today, keep them in my memory as pictures of your grace and care.
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