THE ROAD MOST TRAVELED

Much has been made about “The Road Less Traveled” – the idea of venturing off the path of the norm and discovering truths about life. However, over the last several months I’ve come to think about “the road most traveled”. For me, it’s the course I take several time per week in Henry Cowell State Park. I’m pretty regulated in my morning walks. Wanting to make sure that I get home in time to do my job, I allow myself a half hour of walking. Fifteen minutes into the park, then turn around and walk the 15 minutes back to my van. I generally take the same route, not venturing on to new paths. Some may find this too structured and way too boring to do day after day. However, I’ve discovered that as I have walked the same path I have had new experiences almost every day. Because you see, it’s a living path.

From the beginning I was struck by the early morning sunlight filtering through the leaves that create a canopy over the bridge as I enter the park. I enjoyed the vista of meadow, the serenity of the redwood grove. But the more I walked the more I began to notice the nuances along the way. Soon I became aware of the bushes where I could count on seeing quail. I had walked by those bushes numerous times and had never noticed. Now I make an effort to cross to the other side of the road so as not to disturb the skittish birds. I learned where to look if I hoped to see deer. I now know where I can almost always see blue jays. I recognize different sounds – I know the difference between the sound of a squirrel skittering in the bushes and a bird scratching for seed. I know where the ducks like to play in the spring and I know their flight pattern in the fall. I’m aware of possible dangerous places – places that flood after a rain, places where coyotes travel.

The seasons bring change to the same path. Bare trees in the winter break out in brilliant yellow-green in the spring. The leaves grow and darken in the summer, providing shade. Then when the rest of the world is turning brown in the fall they burst with yellow light as they put on their autumn dress. It’s the same path, but always different.

The weather brings change to the same path. Dew make grass gleam in the morning sun, so much so that it causes one to squint. Fog acts like a theatrical scrim curtain, cutting off the view of the background so that I find myself seeing a specific tree or hill that I had never noticed before. A breeze in the summer grass causes a rippling effect across the meadow. Rain causes grass and branches to bow down. It’s the same path, but always different.

Time brings change to the path. Most days I am at Henry Cowell at the same time. I see familiar faces along the way. I see the animals where I usually see them. But if I go later in the day, it seems that everything has changed. Unfamiliar people pass me. The deer don’t show up. I see a snake lying on the road enjoying the warm sunshine. It’s the same path, but always different.

Walking partners bring change to the path. I generally walk by myself but occasionally I’m joined by a friend or family member. We get engrossed in conversation and I don’t see much of the landscape. But then something catches their eye – a bird, a flower, a mushroom and I see something that I had never noticed before. It’s the same path, but always different.

All this caused me to think about God’s Word, how it, too, is living. When I seldom read it, it is like a chore or exercise. I just think about getting through the passage, putting my time in, and closing the book. But when I read it regularly I discover the nuances that God’s living Word has for me. I know where to look to find God’s peace. I know the passages that give me wisdom for my marriage, how to raise my kids, how to get along with those around me. The things that were once hidden are now very familiar. Yet no matter how familiar, they are new every morning because like nature, God’s Word is living. Although His Word does not change, what I see changes – sometimes due to life’s circumstances, sometimes due to new understanding, sometimes because the enlightenment a partner on the path brings. It’s the same path, but always different.

There is something to be said about the road most traveled.