After a long weekend, a horrendous test, and a practical
exam, I decided to go on a hike today. And it turned into the craziest hike of
my life! I doubt I would have died (though it was definitely possible) but
I've never been so close to finding a way to contact search and rescue. Now I’ll
share what my hike taught me about life.
Story Background
I was on my way
to an average hike and then decided to save that particular hike for Beth.
Plus, I had remembered a dirt road south of boulder city that I never got to
finish exploring. I had high hopes that it would lead me to somewhere near the
Colorado River. After 4x4 crawling my way through a dirt road that “Blue Baby”
handled with ease (not really - this road was definitely not made for a
Hyundai), the road ended miles later with the Colorado River in the distance.
There was definitely no trail and I could see that the descent would be steep
and that there were a few canyons to navigate but it seemed like a straight
enough shot. So I went for it!
Look for the
Metaphors
I was pretty pumped. I started down the canyon with
enthusiasm. I even set up some trail markers to make sure I knew my way back. I
felt pretty confident about my spacing and I continued that for a while – I was
pretty dang happy about my trail markers.
Eventually, I started to get
complacent about setting them up, I was pretty sure I’d find my way and I was
annoyed finding rocks to set up. I continued on my way, content with the
markers I had set up. After navigating through some canyons, and climbing some
mountains to get to where I wanted I found a beautiful spring.
I was mesmerized by it as it would duck into the ground and
then appear later. The flora was also luscious at this point and I followed the
creek bed all the way to the river. I found a snake, some frogs, and evidence
of other wildlife. Once at the river, I ate some lunch, relaxed, swam, and hung
out with some new duck buddies.
I soon decided it was time to start the trek back. I
followed the creek bed that I was so impressed by and SOMEHOW missed my turn. I
eventually realized that things didn't seem familiar but I continued onward –
confident in my abilities.
After hours of climbing, I made it all the way to…. Somewhere.
I climbed a peak and realized that I was NOWHERE near where I needed to be. I
tried a few other canyons and realized that there was no hope in sight.
Depressed and frustrated, I resolved that I must return to the creek. Once at
the creek and refocused, I immediately recognized the turn I had missed. I headed
up and made another wrong turn that ended me up at peak with no way down or
around. I returned to the mistake. Then I headed up again, made a wrong turn (I
think) and realized that I wasn't sure again. This seemed to happen over and
over again.
It started to get dark as the sun disappeared behind the
ridge that marked where I had parked (which was fully out of sight). By this
point I was exhausted; I had ran out of water and replaced it with 1.5L of
spring water (which I ultimately drank all of), I had almost fell to my doom –
just barely hanging on to some rocks, my muscles had never ached with tremors like they were beginning to, I seemed to be taking resting breaks every 5
minutes, and I had already designated several places as potentially good spots
to spend the night.
I was just about to give up hope.
So I prayed. I prayed that He would help me listen to His
guidance, to help me remember where I had been, for strength so my legs wouldn't
give out the next time I had to traverse a cliff, and for forgiveness for not
being wiser.
Apparently, I found my way out and was able to literally
crawl up the ridge to where my car was.
Several Lessons
Learned; here is ONE
In our lives we establish patterns and find tools which we
incorporate into our lives because they help us find joy and peace. But sometimes, we neglect to make sure that
those patterns are consistently implemented and that the tools are always
utilized. Sometimes we forego what is important because a spring pops up that
seems so very attractive or because we simply think we've gotten good enough to
not need the trail markers’ guidance.
Then, when we take a wrong turn, we have nowhere to go but
away from what is right. This is where the canyons fascinated me. Just like in
a maze, I took one wrong turn but ended up so far in the opposite direction
that I had NO idea where I was. Our lives, filled with variety and choices and
diversity, are like mazes that need to be carefully navigated.
Trail markers are like true friends, the scriptures, prayer,
family, etc. They stay still, strong and steadfast, waiting for you to return
to remind you of the way that you had initially intended. The more true friends
and good habits that we acquire, the more patterns of righteousness that we
develop, and the more tools we utilize, the safer and less lost we will be as
we navigate the canyons of life. And then when we make a wrong turn, for surely
we will, the way back is only a short distance – instead of all the way back to
the beginning.
We must remember that we can always go back. We can always repent and start over and try to make things right.
Eventually, my hope was restored as I remembered from whence
I had come and made it to the destination.
As my last, and most important lesson, I remembered that
even when life is so hard, flowers can appear in the rocky desert landscape.
The Water of Life is always flowing. He is always available to provide the hope
to conquer our worries and the strength to ease our burdens.
I am thankful for the trail markers in my life that guide me
home. I am thankful for my wife and family. And most significantly, I am
thankful for the Water that is freely available to ease my every concern.
