Friday, September 9, 2016

Follow your instincts... not the crowd


Crainlarich-Bridge of Orchy

Sunday September 4,2016

Today started out well. The sun was shining (not always the reality here) and despite the pain in my feet I felt otherwise good. The short day the day before had served me well. I was ready to walk! 

The scenery was lovely, and I passed some interesting historical sights including the ruin of an old monastery. 


 
But that's when things went off the rails. There was a fork in the road. And rather than looking for sign posts or checking my map. I followed the two groups ahead of me. 

At first this seemed like no big deal. But before long I'd climbed a hill for about 1.5-2km and the path I was following was gone.  All that was left was field. And more field. And a lot of mud. And some water puddles. And did I mention the mud and field. 

I looked at the groups ahead of me. Still doggedly trying to climb the hill. But I turned and looked down.  Bellow me was a farm house. I figured there at least I could get directions! So I trekked down the hill. Through more mud and water. Climbed a fence and found my way to a path. 

Turns out this was the nice level path I should have been following all along. 

I thought it felt off but I trusted the people ahead of me more than myself. 

How often does something just not quite fit for us be we continue on because it's what everyone is doing?  It seems to me this is the life of faith. Knowing when to follow the crowd and when to say no, that's not quite right.  It's just a little off. We can do better. If we lean a little more toward Christ and a little away from the pack, that, I think, is where we find our sign posts, our path, our way through the wilderness. 

There's always a way if we're willing to trust the one leading us. 


 

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