Today, simply a quote from Scripture and a poem written on my solitary retreat. I paused on my walk through the forest, contemplating the path we are on as humans who believe in eternal, unseen things.

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!                                        (Hebrews 12:1-3, The Message)

The Path

Thankfully,

        the trail has been marked well,

        by ancient pilgrims who

        found themselves in this wilderness world,

Climbing, navigating,

         catching themselves before

         a fall into the briers

         hopping over muddy currents

         swerving away from stingers and deadly fangs.

Observe the curve of the landscape

         just out of sight,

Enjoy, or simply endure—

        the journey,

        as you long for home.

The trail:

          short and long

          narrow and wide

familiar and strange

          cut through the vast landscape of

          self, other, God–

Ending with eternity.

 Be blessed this day, my friends, and persevere, wherever you find yourself on the path.