Contemplating paths...

Everything in the seen world is a dim reflection or representation of the unseen world.

-Dan Pedersen

It is 4:45pm. It is September and the weather is holding at about 80 degrees. A light breeze rushes past and leaves swirl in a whimsical dance against the dirt path before me. The sun is moving down towards the horizon and casts a yellow glow on what usually is lush and vibrantly green. The trail is dotted with the marbling light of the sun peaking through the leaves.

Fall is right around the corner.

As I walk the trodden path, I realize that of all the things I have thought about and discussed regarding my adventures, I have not discussed the actual trail. I have thought about it on many occasions and wondered about the miles of paths that have been carved into the land. I wonder about the rocks, which ones are natural to the landscape and which ones were placed on the path. I wonder about the many trees that have been cut down, and the brush and foliage that gets trimmed back to prevent overgrowth onto the path. I wonder about all the manual labor that was put in digging around the roots of the trees to preserve nature, the small wooden platforms that were built over swampier areas of land, and the blazes that mark all the paths.

I did some research to look into how trails are developed, and after reading all the work that goes into it, my appreciation has been taken up another level. I will not go into too much detail; just share some of the insights that really illustrate the effort that goes into trail making.

Firstly, and most importantly, is the thought process behind creating a path. The person in charge of the layout has to look at the land, think about the kinds of people that will be traversing it, and then design a path that makes sense and has a natural flow between trees and up and down hills. If it is a path designed for bikers, then generally a machine will doze the area and create a more even and wider path. Paths meant for hiking are usually more narrow, and depending on the elevation and topography, may have to be manually dug out. This means people with shovels and pickaxes and rock bars digging miles of paths with general tools, and placing signs or path markers along the trail as well. This is painstaking and hours of toil! Carving a path, clearing the brush and fallen logs, and moving boulders carefully to prevent rock slides--all are just some of the work that has to be done before anyone even can travel on it! This does not even include upkeep of paths, which have to be checked after storms for fallen trees and debris, and regularly tended to for landscaping.

If THIS much work was taken to create a path for a hiker or biker or runner in a park or on a mountain, then HOW MUCH MORE effort and planning was put into play when God orchestrated the paths for our own lives? He who created the earth for us, and all of the natural wonders we witness. He who knew us before we were born:

You know everything about me...

You go before me and follow me...

You saw me before I was born.

Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

excerpts from Psalm 139, NLT

Such an unseen and unfathomable path that is unknown to us-- but that has already been seen and formed by God and is ready for us to travel! All the preparations have been made and the timing of our lives is not coincidental by any means. Every time I walk the trails I am reminded of the paths in my life that I am walking on and I am thankful for God's presence "before and behind me." Psalm 139 has been a comfort to me for many years.

Reflecting back, many of my posts point back to this theme that things that are seen are representative of something unseen--something more powerful and meaningful that connect us to the spiritual world. I have yet to encounter anything during my journey of life that doesn't follow this pattern, and I hope to always gain a glimpse of the wondrous "unseen" by being observant of those things around me that God has purposefully placed in my path.