The Road Less Traveled

I have safely returned home from Los Barriles, Mexico with a tan and a suitcase full of sand. About 80% of my week in Mexico was spent outside at the beach, on the Sea of Cortez, in the 95-degree weather.

One day after having a little too much sun, we decided that we would take a road trip two hours north to a city called La Paz. We took marked roads all of the way there so we had to drive farther south to go north.  Once arriving in La Paz we were all hungry and ready to get out and stretch our legs.

We ate at this wonderful restaurant where Adriane ordered food for us all. There was an assortment of food for us all to share. Among the dishes was raw and grilled octopus as well as grilled bone marrow! Both had unique textures and different tastes.

Full stomachs we got back in the car and headed back to the house where we stayed. Christian decided to take a different way home than we had originally come. As we drove with no map, we came to a fork in the road… We could veer left and continue on the pavement or go straight. We went straight.

As pavement quickly turned to gravel the kids giggled at the bumpy ride. The gravel road could have been the moon with all of the craters and potholes that started to appear. Not soon after the large potholes began did I notice that we were starting to drive up a mountain. Then I remembered that this wasn't a marked road, rather a random path along a mountainside.

The steeper the mountain became the narrower the path also became, and the once gravel was now rocks… BIG rocks. There were no guardrails or preventative measures that would save our car from an accidental slip of the wheel. Because this wasn't a road, there was no way we were going to turn the car around.

The sun was setting fast and the once giggling children sat wide-eyed in their seats silently. We finally came to a point where Christian was unsure if we should continue on. He carefully stopped and got out of the car. He walked up the rocks a bit to assess the situation.

He decided that we should not continue on this unmarked path. We looked around and notice that there was a way that we may be able to turn the car around and go the safer way. So we did…

Driving back out the way we had journeyed for so long, I couldn't help but think that this was like a metaphor that could be compared to the Christian walk.

When we first begin our relationship with God, for a moment it may seem easy (at least for me, anyway). But the pavement turns to gravel and just like that your faith becomes more evident in your life.  Then before you know it things may get hard and you realize you are on the side of a mountain having to trust that this is the path God wants you to take.

Not only are you walking this path that is scary and unknown, and then curve balls are thrown at you. An addiction you once struggled with was represented to you. Or a coworker makes negative comments about your faith in God. Whatever it is, the side of the mountain is steep and you aren’t sure you want to continue to trust that God brought you to this path for a reason. Doubt sets in and you forget all that God has promised.

Then you see it… an escape, a way to turn around… Will you take it? Or will you forget what is behind you and strain towards what is ahead. Press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called you heavenward in Christ Jesus? (Philippians 3:13-14)

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”  (Matthew 7:13)  Jesus tells the crowds as he gives his sermon on the mount.

God never said that this journey would be easy. In fact, Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:11-12 ;  “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Paul, in his letter to Timothy also says this. “In fact, everyone who wants to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:12) He also says at the end of the third chapter that we will be thoroughly equipped for every good work if we are making an effort to know and live out scripture.

So yes, we will walk the narrow and sometimes scary path. And yes, it is going to be hard and we will face trials of all kinds. BUT God is with us and will never leave or forsake us. As a result this narrow path will lead to eternal life and treasures that have been stored up for us in Heaven!