Psalm 139:10
even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold
me fast.
For a six year old boy the hike up to the Saddle Mountain overlook was
pretty exciting . There was one place where the trail had been cut out of the
solid rock . There was a steep drop off on one side and the firm surface
of the rock on the other ..here the trail narrowed to about 2 feet in width
...the cut took an 90 degree turn around the rock face , and it was there that
the hike would go from exciting to scary.
I remember the first time I took this route ...there was no guarantee of
safety beyond the point where the trail turned sharply .. My Father was ahead of
us ( Bob and I ) and my Mother was behind us ..between them we felt safe , but
as my Father went around the corner and I lost sight of him I hugged the mossy
rock wall as close as I could . And in my moment of dread I saw it . His
strong hand and arm reached out for me ...I Grabbed his hand ..there was
security there was hope there , there was faith and trust ...His hand made the
trail wider ....
We made that hike several times over the years ..MY father loved the view
point that was at the end of it ..from its hights we could see the lofty summits
of Saddle mountains twin peaks . in the distance the logging roads and meadows
where He hunted .
And everytime we went up the mountain as a family ...I looked forward to
that narrow place , the place where I knew my fathers had would reach out to
hold me safe .
I am much older now ...this week I revisited the mountain . The hikng
trail is still the same ...the large stump that used to stand guard to the
entrence of the trail is still there
. the trees have grown taller . Its harder
to see the mountain from the parking lot .
I did not remember the trail as being as steep as it was...and at a point
even doubted my childhood memory , but in time there it was the trail going to
the view point , and several hundred feet later I came to the narrow cut . It
was as narrow as I remembered it the drop off was as steep as I remembered
. and the Rock wall as forboding . I stoped at the sharp turn ...Dads had
was not to be seen ...I was alone . MY Brother is currently in Japan , my Mother
and Father have both passed .
The 6 year old boy was out of breath , aging lungs screaming
for air . This might have been a good place to turn around ...but the
memory of the prize , that wonderful view from the lookout point , and knowing I
had another Father ..one who was there with me pushed me on .
Our Heavnly Father reaches out to us ...no matter where we are ....An
ever present help . His strong hands His arms are there to carry me when I
am too weak . His courage supports me when mine fails ...
There is no doubt . I Miss my mother I Miss my father ....But this time
...they were there with me on the SDaddle mountain trail and it was Gods Hand I
clung too ...in remembrance of them and our small family ...alone on a
wilderness trail . Held forever in His Gras
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