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Because of the Lord’s great love
we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning,
great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23
A recent sunrise hike made me think of the different trails we walk in this life. The dawn barely illuminated the signs to the North and South Beach Trails. Which path would we take?
Walking the North Beach Trail
We decided to walk the North Beach Trail, as we believed it would have the best view of sunrise, which it did! After a brief time in the forest, we walked along the pebble beaches and marveled at the waves crashing against the rocks—formidable, unrelenting, yet somehow beautiful. We sat on a rock and watched as the sky changed from light pink to a deeper mauve to a majestic orange and coral.
I found myself singing:
Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me
Thomas O Chisholm
Walking the South Beach
Reluctantly, we rose to head back on the South Beach Trail. This trail wandered through the forest. The trail went along a tranquil cove with gentle, almost imperceptible waves compared to the other shore. Ducks floated on the calm surface, unconcerned about the turbulent waves that lay on the other side. We could see a beautiful home or perhaps a lodge on the other side of the cove.
The distance between the two trails was minimal. In fact, you could easily cross over from one to another in just a few steps, with the trails merging at several points. We could hear the waves crashing against the rocks from the north shore as we walked on the South Beach Trail.
The Trails We Walk
Walking back to the parking lot, I realized this hike reflects the way we walk in this life. Some of my friends are walking on the North Beach Trail right now, battling chronic illnesses or caring for aging parents, the waves pounding their shores.
Right now, my life, on the other hand, resembles more of the protected cove, with a few gentle waves but overall fairly peaceful.
However, it wasn’t long ago, that I was walking on that North Beach Trail. In the video above, you can hear the waves from the other shore in the background. In fact, sometimes life seems to quickly cross back and forth between the two. A single phone call can take you from one side to another. Sometimes the trails merge. Today is my mother’s birthday and rogue waves of grief are disrupting the otherwise peaceful shore.
Life, unlike our hike, often doesn’t allow us to choose which trail we take.
Yet each path has its own beauty. When the terrifying waves of our mom’s terminal cancer broke on our shores, my sister and I made some lasting memories as we watched the royal blue sunset of her life against snow-capped mountains.
Enjoying the South Beach Trail
As I get older, the sound of the pounding waves of the north shore feels very close, even when I am in a protected cove. I can always hear them. I need to imitate those ducks floating on the water. They were not frantically fighting the waves to get a meal in the calm cove like the duck near our campground needed to.
Great is Thy Faithfulness
Whichever trail we are on, I pray that we will always sing about God’s faithfulness and that every morning we will look for his new mercies, regardless of how high the waves seem.
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.