Getting There

I went down a couple of trails today. One was the highway as I drove to an appointment in an unfamiliar city. I had the GPS on, so I was sure I would find the place without getting lost. The other was a rabbit trail that developed when I read something. It was just one little phrase--two ordinary words. I read them and the rest of the verse, but those two words stuck in my mind. “Stepping stones” is from a verse of the hymn, “Until Then” by Stuart Hamblin. Like many people, I like rocks. I collected rocks as a kid. You might have, too. Years later, I created a rock garden in our backyard, going to all kinds of ridiculous lengths in my quest to accumulate the number I needed. Given a choice of brick or stone, I wouldn’t even hesitate. My choice would always be stone. So the mention of a stepping stone caught my attention. A picture was instantly composed in my mind-a tree-lined path with wild flowers on each side, leading down a gentle slope and across a softly babbling brook. Can you see it? What a pleasant vision it could be, but taken in context with the rest of the verse, the picture became quite different. The stepping stones are actually heartaches and my gentle slope is actually a never-ending upward climb. I can picture that easily enough, though. Whose life hasn’t been buffeted with trials? Who hasn’t been in a place they’d rather not be? You keep going from one crisis to the next because there is no alternative, and find that each step is harder than the last. My GPS must have been on. Those two words took me to exactly the place I needed to be in order for the rest of the verse to minister to me, when it declares, “This troubled world is not my final home!” Encouragement for the day, discovered by way of a rabbit trail.