Trust and Thankfulness

Ever feel like the path you are on in life is like being on a switchback trail on a steep mountain?

When our circumstances and paths become unclear, securing our grip on the road ahead can seem challenging.

A childhood memory comes to mind. My family had embarked on a camping trip in the mountains of Idaho. To reach our camp, we had to traverse switchback trails on horseback. We were traveling with my father's friend and his family. So,there were several of us in a single file row on horses traveling on trails so narrow that one wrong move could send one of us reeling down the side of a mountain cliff. I was probably somewhere between age seven and eight and riding on the same horse as my father – my arms tight around his stomach.  

My mother and my siblings were behind us. Out of nowhere, the horse my father and I were on became spooked and reared straight up into the air as he neighed. I screamed, my dad said a few choice words, and I could hear my mother behind me yell my father's name. It was terrifying to us all because, to my right, all I could see were rocks, tumbleweeds, sagebrush, and an excruciatingly deep drop off the mountain. Dad and I were doomed if the horse slipped off the path. There was no way out except to calm the horse down, land on the trail, and continue.

Thankfully, Dad got control of the horse, steadied him, and we finally made it to our campsite– but we were all rattled for sure. As a child, all I could do in the moment was trust and hold on to my father. To this day, this memory is still quite vivid in my mind.

Perhaps the path you are on right now may not seem that steep, or it could be that you are traversing a path that is the narrowest of all your life. Life's paths can be stormy and shrouded in clouds at times. Sometimes it may seem God is silent. But truthfully, He is watching and waiting for us to reach for Him, to trust Him with our lives, to let go, thank Him for the blessings we do have, and hold on tight. He knows our paths; He is aware of our problems, our hurts, our miscalculations, and our thinking that the path was a little wider than it really is. He knows. When I take Jesus' hand and hold on to Him, peacefully, He leads the way out. It may not be the way I had in mind, but it's always in my best interest.

Thankfulness and trust are a mindset. One, I continue to work on. But when I let go of my grip, close my eyes, and pray to the one whom I trust, Jesus - it all becomes easier and the load I am carrying becomes much lighter. God loves you and me. He delights in us, and he wants to bring us through all our switchback trails in life. His ways usually bring us through the mountains and valleys, but not around. There is much to learn. Nevertheless, he leads us through our troubled times and narrow paths. 

Trust and Thankfulness are the way out of our switchback trails. He will help us reach our safe place – where we can feast on His goodness and sit around the campfire of our souls, and as we look back, be thankful for our journeys – even if they have been very steep. 

Happy Thanksgiving!