Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
The first thing I learned when I went to graduate school at the University of Colorado could be summed up in four words: Learn. How. To. Ski. I’m not kidding! My initial meeting with the chair of the Speech Pathology department culminated with listening to him discuss the wonders of Colorado skiing. I grew up in southern Ohio where the greatest outdoor winter sport consisted of hopping on our sleds for a fifteen second run down the hill. So I was hooked. His enthusiasm impressed me so much, that I went straight to a ski shop after our meeting and bought skis, boots and long johns. Grad school infused with swishing down the slopes—what a great way to get a degree!
But when Chip and I moved back East, I parked my Rossignols in the attic. Then some of our friends picked up the sport and invited us to join them. Every winter we pooled our money and rented a chalet at Holiday Valley in western New York. Over the years we developed some catch phrases like sad but somewhat amusing when one of us face-planted in the snow. One of the most memorable phrases was to the glades!
It meant we were headed toward the forest. Off the groomed slopes, the glades offered us the opportunity to make our own trails as we traversed through the evergreens. It was exhilarating, daring and beautiful. To the glades reminds me how exciting it can be to occasionally take a step off the well-worn path. To shake off the predictable patterns and embrace a new twist or turn in the day.
I think sometimes God loves to interrupt our secure boundaries and call us to the glades. David, in Psalm 16, writes about the delightful inheritance he has in the Lord. He knows eternal pleasures lie ahead, and such assurance gives him the freedom to explore the path of life with gusto. As long as he keeps his eyes on the Lord, he will not be shaken.
How about you? Do you hear the Lord calling you to the glades? Don’t be afraid of a little bit of adventure. It’s a great way to get a degree…in life.