Way Breaker

Micah 2:13 -- "One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the Lord at their head."

photo: desktopnexus.com

As the muscles in my legs burned and the bottoms of my feet began to radiate heat, I swiped at the sweat starting to run down the sides of my face. Chris Thompson was just in front of me or the trail would have been unbearable. I was careful to follow closely, to step where he stepped, and push through the dense bamboo where he'd broken branches to make a path.

So intent on following in his footsteps was I, that I nearly ran into him when he stopped suddenly and turned to face me with his finger pressed to his lips. He made a soft shushing sound and pointed to my left.

There stood the largest wasp hives I had ever seen in my entire life! They were as tall as I was and about four feet around. I had no idea that hives could even get that big.

photo: Dr. James L. Castner [felinepress.com]

Had it not been for Chris's sharp eye, I might have inadvertently disturbed them and our spirited hike up the side of the Mount Apo foothills at Mount Carmel would have gone from eager adventure to medical emergency. That many angry wasps would have put all of us in the hospital - which was way-too-many miles away. [and Chris was very allergic].

The thing is, the rest of us could avoid the hives because Chris went ahead of us. He stepped carefully, quietly, and diligently to break open a path through the bamboo thicket in which we had managed to become intrenched.  For the longest time we were unable to find our way through the jungle and back down the mountain - but Chris's determination and common sense pulled us through what could have been a very bad end to an otherwise great afternoon.

We dragged our dust-covered, sweat drenched, mosquito eaten bodies back to the camp grounds as the sun was just starting it's descent behind the mountain ridge around us. I don't think I'd ever been so happy to see the babbling creek near the food hut or the long rows of weathered picnic tables under it's thatch roof. Since the dinner bell had already rung, our parents were sitting at the tables, deep in conversation over the din of flat-wear hitting plates and ice rattling in glasses. None were aware of the all-consuming relief we felt to see their smiling faces again.

It's true, most of us don't find ourselves entangled in thick tropical jungles with vines reaching out for our ankles and bamboo shoots slapping at our faces - but on so many levels our lives can FEEL like we do. We do experience times when we are left scratching our heads, looking around in confusion as we try to determine which path to take.

The wonderful thing is, there is One who has gone ahead of us - One who has pushed through the dense foliage and broken open a clear path for us. There is One to warn us of giant wasp hives and deeply rooted ground that catches the laces of our tennis shoes and threatens to trip us up.

All we have to do -- is follow closely. We step where Jesus has stepped before us and cling to God's' Word. He has gone before us and broken open the way, we need to stay on the trail He's set.