He Walked The Way Before

Back home I love to go backpacking. There is something about being in the outdoors. There is no civilization for miles. Nothing but you and nature. There is this one specific hike that I love the most. The trail is an easy hike. It crosses over a couple of rivers but it sticks to the valleys and easy roads to camp. On either side of the trail are huge mountains that stretch as high as the eye can see. It would be easy to get lost. With the tall mountains it would be difficult to find your way back. The terrain is rugged. Big boulders and glaciers are scattered everywhere. If it werent for that path the hike would be brutal. Each time I go on that hike I am so grateful for that one person who paved the way.

Similarly Jesus Christ showed us the way. If we walk the path he showed to us we can know that all will be well. Even though sometimes the road gets rough someone has walked it before. I remember this whenever I feel like life is just too much.

The Road is Rough

The road is rough, I said.

Dear Lord, there are stones that hurt me so,

And He said, dear child, I understand,

I walked it long ago,

But there's a cold green path, I said,

Let me walk there for a time.

No child, He gently answered me,

That green road does not climb.

My burden; I said, is far too great;

How can I bear it so?

My child, He said, I remember its weight.

I carried my cross you know.

I wish I had friends with me,

Who would make my way their own.

Ah, yes... he said, Gethsemane

Was hard to face alone.

And so I walked the stony path,

Content at last to know,

That where my Master hath not gone,

I would not have to go.

Strangely then I did find friends,

My burdens grew less sore.

For I remembered long ago,

He walked the way before.

A poem by Leona B. Gates