Six Easy Ways to Get Lost

It‘s been well over a month since my trial by snow. To quote the poet Robert Frost, “I took the road less traveled, and that has made all the difference.” I ventured off the path in the Tennessee Pass, snowshoeing for pleasure and exercise, but not having a map, and a poor sense of direction that day, a 1 hour trek turned into 3 ½. Usually I have a good sense of direction, but on that day, with the sky cloudy and snow falling, but bearing right took me too far away from my destination and the little lodge where I should have bought a ticket.

The scriptures say in the book of Isaiah 53 “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.” Each of us, I might say, would like a little bit more. It’s not only Adam and Eve, the parents of each and every one of us, who wanted more than what God had already given them. It is in each of us.

So with “tongue in check” I made my own personal list of the mistakes I made the day I traded Larry’s Loop green for Larry’s Loop blue, and nearly became part of the landscape, like the unfortunate animals that met up with the “queen” in C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe!  I decided to berate myself with some humor. I knew I needed to learn a lesson for the long-run, and humor would get it lodged in my brain! My bad choices that day had spiritual implications, and I knew I needed to remember them. I have since added Bible verses as a reminder for staying in close contact with my Savior while on this spiritual journey.

SIX EASY WAYS TO GET LOST :

1.           Ignore the rules (the sign said TRAIL FEE REQUIRED)

“Indeed, has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”                                   

2.            Ignore good advice, even your own (I had told myself I really shouldn’t walk alone.)

“Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves....whatever is not from faith is sin.”

3.            Be tempted to go farther than you planned (The parking lot was too small!!)

“There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

4.            Do not carry a road map (“I had that map in my pocket two days ago…”)

“Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

5.            Be too proud to ask for directions (I didn’t want the two cross country skiers to think I was stupid!)

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

6.            Continue to try to find your own way. (“Maybe this is a shortcut!”)

“Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world's light.”

I wish I could say I learned a lot from that misadventure about pride vs. humility, dependence vs. independence. But I can attest that given many opportunities, I have been foolish again--many times. Although I haven’t been tempted to take a walk alone without a map (I will not do that again!), I have still fought to excuse one thought or another, telling myself I’m entitled to more--a little more pity, a little more bad attitude...a little more brownie….