AS WE WALK THE TRAIL

I recently finished this book

Which can only be found on Kindle Unlimited--unless you want to pay $30 for the paperback.  I gave this a Good + rating on my card catalog of books I have read.

The story of three women hiking the John Muir trail---it is the truest telling of the good and bad of the hiking trails- I have ever read.  The author is brutally honest and you will come away either wanting to hit the trails or wondering why ANYONE in their right mind would want to hike.  It really is an overall excellent book with her descriptions of the views they saw ringing so accurate.  I found myself reflecting upon all of those wonderful hiking trips---the good, the bad & the ugly.

The trail can be breath-takingly beautiful and also strikingly bleak (that is a kind word) and difficult.   We find ourselves loving the good company of our hiking buddies and annoyed beyond measure in the same day with some small irritation.  Hiking is, in fact, an accurate analogy for walking the path of life.    The meadows of life are filled with beautiful wildflowers of those day to day wonders we may experience.  The mountain top views are absolutely unexplainable--there are no words to describe what we are feeling as we gaze upon the grandeur when reaching the peaks of the trail of life.  The path can be smooth as we float through day by day, but there can also be a field of boulders, treacherous ice, dangerous scree, roaring rivers, and dangerous varmints lurking around the corner hoping to steal our provisions or attack us when we dare to invade their territory.  

The goal is to reach the end of the trail.  We all walk the trail --but at different speeds, taking different paths, and with different goals.  These quotes from the book are exactly what I am trying to say~

"We're all on the same trail, walking the same direction, but each of us is experiencing a different journey, each of us has a different destination.  Somehow, in unknown ways, we are contributing to everyone else's journey too."

"Natural forces have put pressure on my whole experience, forcing me to change the plans I had, rearrange my expectations, and even alter my beliefs about why I'm here."

Such a concise and thought provoking tenet about our trek through life.  I pray you consider your journey, those in or around your path, and if you have a need to change your plans or rearrange your expectations.  Unlike the author, I know why I am here---we are given that answer in The Word----"For God's good pleasure."  Happy Trails to you all!

"For the Lord takes pleasure in His people."

Psalm 149:4