Friday, July 30, 2010

As He Leads Me

It’s a rare thing for me to take a day off for no reason at all, and even more remarkable for Larry and I to have the same day off. But however unusual, it happened that way two Mondays ago and we set out for the mountains of North Carolina.

Our first stop was lunch at one of my favorite places – Café Portofino in Boone. How can you go wrong when the theme is garlic? I have a history of good memories at Café Portofino, and suggest you make some there, should you find yourself in Boone, NC. I’ve shared some great meals with friends, and recently with family celebrating Ben’s graduation from ASU. But this particular day it was just the two of us, and we lingered a long time over our bianca bread, pizza, and lemon blueberry cake.

When we couldn’t stretch lunch out any longer, we took off for Grandfather Mountain, where I hadn’t been since my children were small. It was a beautiful afternoon, with glorious, far-reaching views. I’d forgotten how breezy and cool it is on top of the mountain, and how fluid the mile high swinging bridge feels under your feet, much like being on a boat.

Still, the bridge didn’t frighten me. There were rails along the sides and I watched the crowd crossing without plunging to a tragic demise for several minutes before we started across. But when we got to the other side and I realized the plan included hiking up the rock face to the top, hesitancy crept in, along with all sorts of excuses to stay put. I have a bad knee, and my balance was never all that great, even with two good knees. And to be honest, I’m not as flexible as I used to be. But I’m also not as fearful as I’ve been in the past, either. So I took off my flip-flops (causing Larry some concern) and made like a not-so-nimble mountain goat, my hand in his, one step at a time.     

I quickly discovered that my best bet was to keep my eyes on Larry's back and on the rock just beyond my bare feet, rather than taking in the panoramic views all around me as I climbed. Sometimes I would have to step down to get a good foothold before I could move any farther up, and at least once I had to take a step back and re-evaluate my path. But for the most part, I just trusted my faithful guide to lead me on.

When we got to the top, the two of us sat on a flat rock for the longest time, just taking in the view and enjoying God’s creation in HD. I never cease to be amazed by His imagination! When we finally started back down to the bridge, we worked our way back along the rocky course slowly, him leading the way and me following close behind, molding my feet to the rocks. 

It was on the way down that it occurred to me: This is the way I should be living my life every single day, eyes on Jesus as he leads me safely along the paths of my life. 


“We have an idea that God is leading us to a particular end, a desired goal; He is not. The question of getting to a particular end is a mere incident. What we call the process, God calls the end….God's training is for now, not presently. His purpose is for this minute, not for something in the future. We have nothing to do with the afterwards of obedience; we get wrong when we think of the afterwards. What men call training and preparation, God calls the end. God's end is to enable me to see that He can walk on the chaos of my life just now. If we have a further end in view, we do not pay sufficient attention to the immediate present: if we realize that obedience is the end, then each moment as it comes is precious.”

I can’t look off into the future too far or I’ll surely misstep and likely fall. I may have to step down some days in order to eventually climb higher – my life course isn’t designed to be level, as much as I’d like it to be. And sometimes I may even have to step backward because I've let go and wandered off the path. Or I might be called to reach back and help a friend or family member over a tough spot. But I believe if I’ll just keep my hand in His and continue putting one foot in front of the other, He will be faithful to lead me over the rocks and level ground alike. 

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” ~ John 8:12