Last week I was at Radnor Lake State Park, one of my favorite places to hike and receive inspiration. Because of where I live now, I haven’t been there regularly in a long time and didn’t remember how long it usually took me to complete a particular trail. My day was tightly scheduled and I was concerned about getting done in time to make a 12 o’clock meeting. Though I was delighted to be there, my joy was overshadowed by the pressure to go as fast as possible.
At the top of Ganier Ridge, I was still worrying about the time and had a fleeting thought that the safest bet may be to turn around and go back the way I came. I had timed myself so I knew exactly how long it would take for me to go backwards from there.
Then a new thought occurred to me. Maybe I’m over halfway there and the best plan is to stay on course? Maybe that's the fastest way back to my car at this point?
The translation for life almost stopped me in my tracks. I’ve been journeying through a challenge in my personal life that feels like the slope increases every single day and I will never reach the other side of this mountain. Frequently I consider opting for the fastest way out of the pain, but do I really want to turn around when I’ve already come this far?
What if I am more than halfway there or closer than I think and just don’t know it?
So I will press on. I will move forward guided by my intuition and trusting that I’m on the right path. I will discern the difference between acknowledging fear and reacting to being afraid.
As it turns out, it took twenty-four minutes to reach the top of the ridge where I considered turning around. It took another twenty-eight minutes to get back to my car from that point. I could only have ended the hike four minutes early by cutting it short and backtracking. But by pressing on, I completed the full trail, received everything God had for me on the journey and still finished in plenty of time to make it to the next thing on my calendar.
I wouldn’t have had the same sense of victory if I had played it safe and cut my journey short and I suspect I would have always wondered if I could have made it the whole way in time. Nothing stings worse than a lingering sense of regret and being haunted by thoughts of “What if?” I'm glad I kept going and took a chance on things working out.
For today, let’s keep going and get the lessons. If we’ll ignore the temptations to take shortcuts, we may find that we’re closer than we think.