Where Are You Going?

When I was around 8 or 9 years old, my dad decided to take the family on a nice and relaxing hike.  So my parents loaded my two brothers, my sister and I into our '76 Blazer and we headed across the mountains to Smith Rock State Park. I remember how hot and thick with dust the trail was as we set out on our little hike.  Thinking the trails would be clearly marked, my dad had not saw it necessary to bring a trail map. As we meandered throughout the towering peaks deeper and deeper into more and more rugged terrain, it became slowly obvious that his lack of foresight had been a mistake.  As the afternoon drug on, my father led us all around that park, choosing paths at random with the hope that the next turn would lead us out.  As I recall, we had not packed enough water to last much more than a quick hike in and out, something which was causing no small amount of irritation amongst my parents.  Finally, late in the afternoon, we saw a group of hikers on a ridge and my dad was able to get their attention through a series of screams, gutteral grunts and calisthenics.  They  were able to provide directions as to how we could escape our plight.  I do not recall the hike out nor the drive to Redmond.  But I do remember sitting on an open tailgate in the parking lot at Safeway and the delicious feel of an ice cold grape soda as it trickled down my parched throat....

Standing in the middle of those towering cliffs, my father did not need a solution to a problem.  He was not looking for an answer as his eyes searched the ridge.  What he needed was the right direction.  He had led his family down the wrong path and now he was standing where every wrong path leads..The wrong destination.  He knew that only the right path would lead us to where we wanted to go.  Lately, that truth has been becoming more apparent every day as I observe people all around me moving quickly and hastily down paths that all lead to well established outcomes.  But even more painfully, I find myself on paths that I do not even recall choosing, but well on my way to the wrong destination.  I have relationships that mean more to me than my own life which, seemingly overnight, became strained.  My reactions becoming steps down a path that is well worn with the regrets of those who walked it before me. But what to do?!...

When I was 18 years old, my girlfriend and I drove down to Eugene to go shopping.  We took Brush Creek Road, a winding highway that cut through the hills.  It was a particularly desolate stretch of road, marked occasionally by ramshackle houses and crumbling outbuildings.  It was upon our return trip that my car broke down.  In the age before cell phones, my car sputtered to a shuddering stop on the side of an unlit stretch of country road, far from anyone we knew.  As the evening grew inky black, we waited and hoped that someone would stop, but the few cars that were on the road that night seemed to be in a hurry to escape the very stretch of road which we found ourselves stranded upon.  Finally, I saw dim headlights approaching.  As the car drew near, it slowed down  and I was able to identify an old beat-up Honda cvcc.  As It slowly drew past, I noticed it was missing its rear window, more room for the pit-bull to stick his head through.  The car drove past us and then slowly turned around and parked behind us.  I got out of the car and walked to meet the man who emerged from the Honda. 

He was a gaunt looking man wearing camo pants and a sleeveless shirt.  His greasy hair hung long from beneath his stained trucker hat.  As he approached, my eyes were drawn to his belt, where a .38 sat in a holster.  He asked if we needed help and, as I stood in the dark alone and scared, I told him yes.  He returned to his car and pulled it in front of mine.  Getting out, he reached into the back of his car past the dog which was staring at me, and pulled a length of chain out which he attached to the front of my car and the rear of his.  He returned to his car and with a jolt we began to slowly move. After a bit, as we slowly lurched along that lonely highway, the unthinkable happened.  His car suddenly swerved onto a road leading into the darkness away from the highway which led home....

My girlfriend began screaming, my thoughts raced to my parents and friends who would find out about our deaths from the newspaper... My heart beating, pounding, my nose running, I knew I did not want to go down that path!...So I hit my brakes with all my strength and I ground that Honda to a stop!!  I yelled at my girlfriend to stay in the car, opened the door and stepped out into the darkness to meet the man who was approaching our car.  I walked quickly to close the space between us as he reached towards his belt....

I will stop my story there to let my point sink in...I knew I did not want to go down that path so I used all my strength to STOP!! I did not have a car problem, I was going in the wrong direction; away from safety, away from home, towards destruction....


So I find myself today on a path that is leading away from where I want to go.  What do I do?  I first  must STOP.  And then, much like my father that day standing on that dusty trail, his eyes searching the ridge, I look for direction, from The One who always offers it.

What path are you on today? What is its natural destination? Is it leading away from safey, towards destruction?...Stop and return to the path that leads home..


Hear, my son, and accept my sayings
And the years of your life will be many.
I have directed you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in upright paths.
When you walk, your steps will not be impeded;
And if you run, you will not stumble.
Take hold of instruction; do not let go.
Guard her, for she is your life.
Do not enter the path of the wicked
And do not proceed in the way of evil men.
Avoid it, do not pass by it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
-Proverbs 4:10-15