The Narrow Trail

By Virginia Smith

In Utah’s Wasatch Mountains just east of Salt Lake City there’s a trail I love to hike. It’s called Donut Falls. I drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon and leave my car at a small and often crowded parking area, lace up my hiking boots and take off. There are two trails – the first is wide enough for a car, though no vehicles are permitted up there. It is easy, with a gentle grade and few rocks littering the way. It’s a beautiful hike and leads to the top of the falls where I can see the donut, a giant flat rock with a round hole where thousands of gallons of rushing mountain water pour through.

The second trail isn’t so easy. It’s narrow, steep, and often jagged. I stop periodically to catch my breath, and at one place I have to climb down a six-foot muddy ledge, holding on to tree roots for balance. But it’s worth the extra effort, because the narrow trail ends below the falls instead of above it. All that water pours through the hole above me and thunders into a sheltered pool, refreshing me with a cool mountain spray as it rushes past me over a stunning rocky creek bed. The view from that angle takes my breath away. It’s well worth the struggle to get there.

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The Greatest Organizer

By Virginia Smith

Thank goodness for electronic calendars. Back when I worked in the corporate world I learned to rely on my computer to organize my day, and that’s a time management technique I’ve kept in my career as a writer. Each morning I turn on my computer and examine my schedule, so I know what’s in store for me during the day. Often my hours are filled with back-to-back conference calls, appointments, meetings with editors, and looming deadlines. Without my electronic day planner, I wouldn’t know where to go, or what I’m supposed to do when I arrive.

God has a plan for my day, too. The Bible declares that the Lord has made each day, and arranged every moment to fit perfectly into His plan. Not only does He know about my lunch with a grieving friend, He also knows about the neighbor I’ll see on my way to the mailbox who needs a smile to brighten her morning. He knows about the lady at the grocery store who needs help lifting heavy bags into her car at the exact moment I pull into the parking place next to hers. Not a single encounter will take the Lord by surprise, because He has filled in every moment on the calendar He maintains for me. When I trust in Him, He’ll show me where to go and what to do, and my day will bring glory and honor to Him.

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Traveling Unfamiliar Roads

By Virginia Smith

At times the road we travel in this life seems to lead to some pretty strange places.  I can get a bit anxious at times, wondering where God is leading me.  Then I remember.  He paved the road.  He knows every inch.

When my kids were younger, I got on a walking kick.  I power-walked the same route through my neighborhood every day, and I used the time to pray.  One beautiful sunny morning as I passed blooming spring flowers and prayed for my children and my husband, I had the strangest urge.  At the intersection where I always turned right, it occurred to me that I could turn left instead.  No reason really, just a feeling that wouldn’t go away.  The break in my routine felt like the right thing to do, so I did.  A couple of blocks later, I decided to turn down an unfamiliar street.  I didn’t know where it would lead, but it seemed like a nice street.  After a few blocks, I turned up yet another unfamiliar street that just felt right.  A thought occurred to me and I whispered, “Lord, are You telling me to turn down this street?”

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TAKING A TUMBLE

I love to ski. I’m not a great skier, but I’ve taken lessons to improve my skill, and I enjoy nothing more than a blue-sky winter day on the slopes. I’m always exhilarated by the breathtaking view of the mountains as I glide down a gentle, tree-lined path on fresh, powdery snow. Crisp mountain air smells better than regular air; it’s cleaner somehow. And the vistas are breathtaking. Sometimes a ray of sun touches the snow-covered tips of distant mountains and seems to set them on fire with its glow.

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Priorities

As I sat in the comfy chair I call my “prayer chair,” my attention was drawn to the winter-bare tree in my front yard. The sky had just begun to lighten with the first hints of the soon-rising sun, and  I noticed a bird perched on a branch. At first I didn’t pay much attention, because I was involved in going through my prayer list. But then the little bird shivered. Something inside me went, “Aaawwwww, the poor thing!”
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