Cairns

My husband, kids, and I just returned from a two-week trip out west.

 Destination: Colorado. 
Purpose: hiking. 

 We camped in a national park (Black Canyon of the Gunnison), the highest city in America (Leadville), and on one of the highest roads in the Rockies (Guanella Pass).

 [If you've not been to Colorado, you should go. Add these 3 places to your must-do list!!!]

 In the midst of our camping, we hiked two fourteen-ers. A 14er is a mountain whose peak is at least 14,000 feet above sea level. The trail length can range from four miles to many times that, but the end result is standing on what feels like the top of the world. We tackled Mount Sherman and Mount Bierstadt, two of the least difficult. (They are all hard. But some are REALLY hard. I blogged about a super hard one here.)

 The four or us began each mountain together. But, just as I suspected might happen, my seven-year-old son destroyed me in the ability to hike quickly uphill for hours. My husband was comfortable to go at his pace, and before too long we found ourselves separated into the two boys and the two girls. The willow-lined trails quickly gave way to dirt paths and, for most of the hike, rocks. SO MANY ROCKS. Who knew the Rocky Mountains were so...well, ROCKY?!?!?!

 It's difficult to find a path to where you want to go through acres upon acres of rocks that range from the size of a shoebox to the size of a car. But, luckily, there are these great piles of small rocks along the way called cairns. (You pronounce it like "kern," or how your southern-talking cousin might say "Karen.")

 So when we would start into each boulder field, Shelby and I would look for the first cairn and head that direction. From that point, we'd look around to find the next. Sometimes you could see several cairns in a straight row; other times, we could barely the one marking the path. But we could continue on in confidence knowing that we were on the right path, headed toward the top, because we had these great markers along the way.

 The cairns were one of Shelby's favorite parts of the 14ers. They gave us small goals to shoot for. We'd plan to stop and eat or drink (or just breathe!) when we reached them. We could stop and sit for a few minutes on the big flat base. From each cairn, we'd look around for the next, knowing that we should head in that direction.

 And of course, like God did with parables in the New Testament and in my everyday-parable-filled-life, He spoke to me quietly in my soul: "This is how I lead you."

 It is. Though I know I have an ultimate goal in life (death which leads to eternal life) and a view waiting for me I can't imagine (heaven), I can't see the whole mountain from where I am. 

 But I can see the next marker. I can see just enough of my life's path to get me to the next cairn.

 God never promised that He would reveal His whole path for our lives all at once. But David knew God's Word was a lamp for his feet and a light on his path (Psalm 119:105). Notice two things in this verse: 1) God's Word was the source of His guidance. If you're not seeking, digging, and consuming it daily, you're not going to have the spiritual eyes to see the next cairn. 2) The lamp is at the feet and light on the path. Just in front of you. Not looking ahead 100 meters; just down the path. 

 So many Christians get anxious because they can't see further down the road. They think God isn't revealing His plan to them. But either they're not truly seeking His path in the only place they can get it--His Word--or they don't see that He really has given them what it takes to get to the next cairn; it's just not that far away. 

 "This is what the Lord says--your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who teaches what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go." (Isaiah 48:17)

 Oh this one verse is so packed-full of truth:

 He is God.
He is Lord.
He teaches you what is best. (Not just good. BEST.)
He directs you.
His direction points you where you should go,but He won't drag you there. God's path for your life is crazy and challenging and unpredictable. But for the people who find direction in His Word and follow it by faith, it is perfect. Following God's path brings peace, strengthens, trains, and encourages. 

 "Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it," (Isaiah 30:20-21).

 God's path is not easy or straight or fully revealed. But we can trust the One who promised "I know the plans I have for you...plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope," (Jeremiah 29:11). 

 You have a summit ahead: heaven, where we will see clearly and know fully. And if you could see every twist and turn of that path that would take you there, you might not be brave enough to go. But God gives you the next cairn. He will always give you the wisdom and strength and grace and forgiveness to get there. 

 Can't see the next cairn? Consider:
  • Are you asking God to reveal the whole path and hand you a map? He won't. Ask just for the next cairn.
  • Are you seeking Him in His word? That's where you find it.
  • Are you so far off the path you don't know where the last cairn was? STOP. Turn back. Confess your sin and unbelief and pride and start walking in His path wholeheartedly. 
  • Do you feel like you see the next cairn but don't have what it takes to get there? Stop relying on your own strength and use His, which so powerfully works in you (Colossians 1:29).
You can't see this whole mountain of a life from where you are. So when you find yourself at a cairn, use it as a small celebration point. Sit for a minute. Refuel and refresh. Take a moment to look around a breathe and seek out the next cairn that God is revealing to you.

He created your path. He maintains the trail, and He put the cairns along the way. Trust Him to lead you exactly where you need to go.


@leslienotebook
myleslienotebook@gmail.com

(Thanks to all of you for your patience. Between blueberries and our trip, I have not had time to write. I missed it!)

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