The Patapsco River runs whitewater between Marriottsville and Woodstock, Maryland. I ought to know. When I was on my feet, I'd ride horseback all along that river -- and there was one place in particular we faced real danger. Over the course of a half a mile, the river dropped many meters, rushing over jagged rocks. Along the left side of the bank there was a sharp ledge of granite which rose toward a line of trees at the top of the ridge. On the right side of the river, there was this flat, beautiful meadow.
Now you could travel either bank because the trail split in two before the river dropped -- one path led up the steep granite slope; the other meandered safely through the meadow. It was an unspoken rule that when we were little we had to stick behind my daddy who was in the lead. He called himself the “trail boss” back then and he always reminded us that he had the final say on which path we'd take. As you'd guess, whenever we came to that fork in the path right before the river dropped, Daddy would head for the boring meadow. But just like any kid, I always looked longingly at the left side and that exciting-looking rocky path up the granite ledge. In months past I had seen boys racing their horses up that ledge and it looked very inviting. The meadow was dumb – it was boring. But my dad refused to let us go up that ledge. We had to stick behind the “trail boss,” even if at times it seemed like the “same old thing,” “same old routine.”
Many years have passed since those long ago, far away days of summertime horseback riding and, even now, in my least consistent moments, I find myself still wanting to take the reckless path, especially in my thought life. You know the path with the crazy risks; the shortcuts; the things that put you out on a ledge; the things that can cause you to slip and fall. Maybe I still have some cowgirl inside me, you know, that needs to be tamed. But my heavenly Father is still the “trail boss.” I have to recognize that He is out in front of me and He has the final say. When He tells me to avoid a foolish path, I’d better listen and follow Him.
God says to me in Jeremiah 31, “I will lead you beside streams of living water on a level path where you will not stumble. I will do this because I am your Father.” Wow, talk about a tailor-made verse from the Bible! And I like the part where it says that God will do the safest and wisest thing for His children because, well… that’s what a good daddy does. A daddy should watch out for His little children.
I'm glad that God holds His ground with me and my stubbornness. I'm grateful that He leads me on a level path… the one where He knows I'm less prone to stumble (and you know, you don’t like stumbling… you don’t like looking foolish or falling flat-on-your-face, right? Hey, God's looking out for you, friend!).
So, join me in thanking Him today and I just wish my earthly daddy were around so I could thank him, too, because it’s a lesson from the “trail boss.”
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