Blazing a Trail
Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. – Jeremiah 6:16
Seventy years ago, the schools in Minnesota were a long way apart, and each usually served eight grades. When I started in the first grade, I was not
very big and the three-mile walk to the school was a bit intimidating.
My father tried several different paths from home to the schoolhouse to find the shortest distance, and then blazed a trail for my brother and me by
marking the trees along that way. The trail went through a grove of white-barked birch trees, where the ax mark was easy to spot, through a swamp
area, over a few hills, and past groves of oak and cottonwood growing along a small creek.
My father took us through the path one time and instructed us on how to follow the blazed trail. After a week, that path was familiar and we knew it
would take us to the schoolhouse. We knew just how long it would take too. We would get there in time if we did not play too much along the way.
Most of us prefer to take the shortest route to reach our destination. It saves time and we know it will get us there. An old familiar path is usually
the safest way to go.
Jeremiah reminds us to ask for the old paths. We have instructions of how to follow them in God’s Word, and we know the old time religion has opened
the door into Heaven for many people. Sometimes it may seem like there are deep valleys and high hills to climb, but our Father in Heaven has blazed
a trail that will get us there. It is the best way to go, and the signs along the way are easy to read. We just need to faithfully follow those
old paths.