“They shall neither hunger nor thirst; the searing sun and scorching desert winds will not reach them any more. For the Lord in his mercy will lead them beside the cool waters. And I will make my mountains into level paths for them; the highways shall be above the valleys. See, my people shall return from far away, from north, west and south.” Isaiah 49:10-12

COMFORT ALONG THE PATH WE WALK

As she walked along the Honeysuckle lined path on the brownish gray hued river rock, her mind seemed tortured with thoughts of her past sins. For the path she walked was not always the correct path in her life. She would wander off in misguided directions that brought her soul much sadness.

She conveyed to me the pain within her heart and soul this day as we walked together down this lovely path. This seemed to be the right path for her today and she felt a relief of the pain as she shared her story with me.

The orange Day Lilies were in full bloom and the happy faced white Daises danced joyously about in the soft gentle breeze. We each felt the gentleness of the breeze and drank in the sweet scent of the Honeysuckle.

The sun was ablaze in brightness amid the azure blue sky and the white puffy clouds formed shapes of amazing design. We stopped for a while and sat on the old gray wooden bench tucked away from the path amid the Purple Cone Flowers and lavender Butterfly Bushes. We sat silently for a bit watching as the Bumble Bees buzzed busily amid the Cone Flowers and watched as a beautiful black and white stripped butterfly landed upon one of the Butterfly Bushes to drink in the sweet nectar.

We heard the wind chimes that hung from a tall Shepherds hook ringing as the wind brushed the wooden clangor against the long rusted pipes. As we watched the pipes move we spoke of the homeliness of the pipes bringing forth such lovely melodies sounds. Nothing in life is revealed from only the surface. Often we, as humans, see only that surface, and oh what we miss along the paths we travel by being so superficial.

Now the path we walked this day was truly one of peace and beauty. I know my friend felt that peace as well. She is not the only one led astray by the evil force in life. We all are easily influenced by a darkness that hovers about us. We, often times, easily slip off the bright, sweet scented path into the murky fog of blackness filled with fear and anxiety in our lives.

We, at times, find ourselves burdened with too much debt, which is often the result of the wrong choices we make. We put too much emphasis on what others think, sometimes, in our lives, so we try to compete and go off on a hurried, greedy path of “want,” never to obtain anything worthwhile.

We find ourselves racing upward toward a high cliff, from fear, only to find when we get to edge there is nothing but a large drop off. Had we decided to stay and face the little fear, for the moment affecting our life, we would not find ourselves running to the edge where the fear is multiplied many times over. Now we are at the edge and the only way out we think is to flee even further into the darkness, which thus brings us to the EDGE.

We need to know when life offers us these various “paths” to walk; we need to make the right choices. You may ask me, “How do we ever know, for sure, which path to travel.” My answer is very simple, “Ask God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit into your lives.”

As I told my friend this day, God loves you so much; YOU are His beloved child, as we all are, His beloved children. Jesus left the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter. Even when you find yourself on the wrong path due to the poor choices you made, ask and you will find that comfort.

God will lead you along the path of beauty, peace, comfort and love. Never give up for every day is a new day for a new path for you to walk. You must, most of all, ask for forgiveness from your Father and secondly learn to forgive yourselves.

I, too, find it very hard to leave my past behind me. There are so many wrong paths I have taken, I find it very difficult to forgive myself. So much so, that I have begun to ask God to help me forgive myself. I never use to think that was very important, but, friend it is!

For if you cannot forgive yourself, how can you begin to love yourself and we each need to love ourselves. We, as a human race, are not very nice sometimes to each other and to ourselves.

I like to live in the past thinking what a wonderful service society we once had in this great land of ours. Remember when we could drive into a REAL service station and have a sharply dressed man, in a cool uniform, pump our gas, wash our windshield, check our oil, water, and tires? Where have those days gone? Now we have to get out in the blazing heat of summer and the cold snowy winds of winter and do all of these things ourselves. Can you imagine how many more folks might work, if we really were a service society again? Maybe we need to learn more "service" ways to act on this path we travel.

No more waiting in long lines at fast food restaurants, we would have a slower paced “path” if we did not have the hurry-scurry life of today. For those of you who have not known these days, you are truly missing a more gentle and friendly way of life. I wonder how many of us really "dine" rather than just EAT?

So, just remember, as you go forth this coming month that truly, “For the Lord in his mercy will lead them beside the cool waters. And I will make my mountains into level paths for them; the highways shall be above the valleys.” That will happen when you talk to God and ask Him to allow the Holy Spirit to lead you on the right, joyous path of life.

Whatever burden may come your way this month lean on the Holy Spirit for direction to choose the right path to travel. Know that love and direction surround you, if only you will talk, listen, and act according to the love that fills your heart, soul and mind.

Do unto all creation, as you want all creation to do unto you. Do not just think of humanity, think of our animal friends, our nature and environment, our total life on this planet. Be loving, kind, and forgiving. These are some of the "good paths" to travel.

God bless you this coming month.

Love and

I remain His humble servant,

Copyright Leigh Moran