Crooked Paths

In the late 80s, I stood at the top of Half Dome in Yosemite Park, looking out over the valley below.  My mind was not the least bit occupied with the hours of tortuous hiking over switchbacked, crooked paths, quickly elevating trails and a 700 foot, near vertical climb at the end utilizing blocks and cable.  My mind was simply taking in the awesome viewpoint of God's nature from a spot that realitively few ever experience.  The arduous, crooked paths to get there were not just worth it, they seemed immaterial.

Looking back over my life, one cannot help but note some terribly difficult times.  I suffered pain and loss and setbacks that I would wish on no one.  But, on the other hand, looking at life from where I am standing now, I see hope and blessings and the awesome work of God in my life.  It does not escape me that where I am, who I am and where I am going is intractably tied to the crooked path I traveled to get to this place.  All, not just some, of my experiences served to bring me to this point, a vantage point to which God has brought me and a junction along the path to heaven itself.

I didn't enjoy every step of the climb to the top of Half Dome, but I had to take them all in order to reach the point from which I was able to see the grand view from the top.  I do not think much about the difficulty of the journey itself, but I will never forget the view from the top.  It is not the journey but the reaching of the desired desttination that is truly important.  I could have taken a much easier path on the valley floor that day in Yosemite, but the view would have been so limited, so much less.

Did you enjoy every class, every project and every test in your educational journey?  Not likely.  But how do you feel about achieving your diploma?  Do you enjoy every momentt of your workout at the gym?  Not!  But what about the defined muscles or trim waistline?  The difficulty of the journey, the crookedness of the path, does not compare to the blessing of reaching the destination - as long as you continue the journey to the end.

Dropping out of college, aborting your exercise program or staying on the valley floor is when the journey itself makes a difference.  If we continue to the end, reaching our destination, the journey becomes a part of the attained goal and part of its grandeur.  The path on which God leads you home will be more than worth it - it will become a part of the heavenly prize.  The pain and loss and sorrow will be swallowed up by the indescribable reward, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all " (2 Cor 4:17).  Jus' Say'n.