Where to go?

One of my favorite areas to hike near where I live has a network that consists of around 20 miles of trails. This particular section of Ohio has amazing diversity in the forest and landscapes, as well as trail difficulty, and it is just an awesome place to escape. I needed to get away from the chaos of life for a little bit, and there is a lake I was drawn to in this area. I got to the trail head in the early evening, but still didn't know exactly where I wanted to set up my hammock and do some processing.

I was tired, so I didn't feel like doing the longer, and more difficult of the trail options. At the same time, I didn't want to simply do the short and easy trail around the lake. That left me with a trail I haven't hiked too many times. It isn't my favorite path; there isn't much too it, but it was the only real option I had since I felt like I wanted to watch the sun set over the lake. I hefted my pack onto my back and began to walk.

The entire time I was focused on where I was going to set up my hammock. I kept asking God, "Where do You want me to set up?" I hadn't gone more than 100 yards when I saw a place in my mind, and I knew that this was the spot god was sending me. It was close to where I was, maybe half a mile at most, and I turned around to head to the spot. I had a lot I wanted to process, and again, I was tired. The trail I was on was around 2.5 miles, and has one section with some steeper hills, and if I knew where I was going to go, why not head straight there?

As I turned to head there I felt that God was nudging me to turn back around and hike this trail. I wasn't sure why, but I decided to listen. I walked and was able to clear my head, I find that's what hiking does for me and that's why I do it most of the time.

I was looking through some pictures I took, and this trail really does contain a lot of beauty. There's this large field that gives an amazing view of the sky, that day it was a really vibrant blue. It had rained earlier that day, and I found mushrooms that had collected rain water. At the lowest point of this trail there is small stream that falls over rocks. The trail ends on the top of a hill that looks over another field, and at this time of the year there were several wildflowers growing. Why don't I hike this trail more often?

I headed back to the lake, my head finally cleared and overwhelmed by beauty, and found the spot I had seen. My hammock was set up, now it was time to process...


Fight the lion, 1 Peter 5.1-11

TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!