Blazing A Trail

I grew up on a dairy farm right here in Meade County; surrounded by 650 acres of solid prairie.  The only trees on our place were intentional - the windbreak, a couple for shade around the house and a dozen running parallel with the road out front.  And as beautiful as the Black Hills are, our forest does not fall into the ‘dense’ category. So, when I read the adventures of exploring frontiersmen like Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett, the images my ten-year-old mind could conjure didn’t do justice to their reality.  Explorers? Big deal.  Bears, mountain lions? So what?  I’m listening to the top 40 country count-down, hoping Charlie Pride’s Kiss and Angel is going to be number one.

Fast forward a decade or so and I’m a young mother driving through Kentucky and Tennessee. *Insert perspective change here*

Those trail-blazers hadn’t simply hiked through a forest! Their insistence to live on the cutting-edge (literally) carved a path through a jungle.  Paths that have since led millions to the Grand Ol’ Opry and Churchill Downs.    

 

The Kingdom of God requires trail-blazers as well.  Jesus led the way, slicing through the tangled mess that had overtaken the hearts and lives of humanity.  He was followed by fearless frontiersmen like John, Peter, Lydia, Paul and Pricilla.  Others have built settlements in the wake of the trails these brave forerunners made: Martin Luther, William Wilberforce, Florence Nightingale, Helen Keller, C. S. Lewis and Mother Theresa.  The inroads made by these courageous Kingdom explorers has paved the way for millions to follow. 

I wonder if these Kingdom trail-blazers were aware of the impact their explorations have made on the world?  

I believe all children are hardwired with a desire to accomplish amazing things, making inroads into areas not yet explored. Sadly, not everyone realizes those dreams because the first step in the adventure begins by blazing a trail in our own hearts.  Cutting through overgrown lies, hurts, fears, idealism, and other unspeakable underbrush is a daunting task.  But hey, the payoff so exceeds the effort. And because of Christ’s success at the Cross, we never have to face that task alone.  Go for it!  Your world will be changed for the better because you bravely go where no other can… the realm of God’s Kingdom that waits to be discovered in your heart.