We got up early in the morning to hike in the Rockies. I’d been speaking at a women’s conference, so I hadn’t spent much time with Tim. Our anniversary fell in the middle of the conference, so even before we made our travel arrangements, we planned to hike together. We chose a hiking strategy different from our usual conquer-themountain approach. We chose a trail we knew would be beautiful no matter how far we were able to go. We’d savor the journey, hiking until a specific time before turning around. That way, we’d have plenty of time to catch our return flight home.

We parked as close to the trailhead as possible and began the obvious route to the trail. We followed the widest path, enjoying our first steps in the crisp, refreshing mountain air. We love to walk and talk together, and we were focused on connecting as we got into a rhythm of breathing in the higher altitude air. We turned the corner and faced the first challenge.

We were ready. It was a good start to the day. The trail was easy, unusually wide for most mountain trails. We quickly reached the top and began to follow a much smaller trail around the backside of a pile of brush and rock. The trail led into the woods, and we faithfully followed it for about 10 minutes. The trail faded. There were no clear marks, which was odd for a fairly popular hiking trail. We realized the few people we saw getting out of their cars around the same time we arrived at the trail were nowhere to be seen, although we heard some faint voices. We had a choice: forge forward or retrace our steps to see if we missed a critical landmark.

I’m adventurous, and Tim is determined, so in the past, we would probably have chosen to keep moving. But after a brief discussion, we decided haphazardly meandering through unfamiliar territory wasn’t exactly what we had planned. We were okay with hiking for a specified time, turning around and returning, but if we weren’t sure where we’d come from, “returning” might prove to be difficult. So, we turned around and hiked down to explore the possibility we’d erred.

We had definitely erred. In our excitement to start our journey and spend the day together, we missed a very important – and obvious – sign.

Duh.

We were on a path, but it was access road. No wonder it didn’t last for long.

We laughed at ourselves, as well as talked about how our responses would have been different many years ago. We most likely would have tried to decide whose fault the missed trail was. We would have powered up the mountain to accomodate for lost hiking time. The focus would have been less on enjoying the journey and more on accomplishing something.

As it was, we determined we’d simply had a warm-up to our “real” hike. We continued up the trail, still determined to turn around without summiting. We enjoyed the beautiful views along the journey.

It was time to turn around when we saw this…

Decision time once again. Yes, we had been content to walk along at a leisurely pace to get this point, and we’d pre-determined we’d turn around without summitting, but we were close to the treeline. Journeying through the changing landscape was worth a few more minutes, so we continued. We soon reached the treeline and met some hikers returning from the summit. When they told us we were only 20 minutes from the top, Tim and I knew there was no turning back.

Despite our plans, we journeyed farther than we anticipated, and we enjoyed additional challenges and breathtaking views along the way.

Despite our detour, we journeyed farther than we anticipated, and we enjoyed additional challenges and breathtaking views along the way.

I’m starting today with a plan, but I’m trusting God to rework the plan so the journey is more about him than me. I trust him to add in whatever is best to add in, even when it doesn’t seem to fit well, and eliminate what doesn’t need to be part of the plan, even when I think it does. How about you? You might have a good plan, but are you trusting God for the best plan?

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11