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The Right Trail

I grew up in the great state of Montana. During my teenage years, I took part in week-long backpacking trips into the rugged and beautiful Rocky Mountains. My father organized these trips for a local Christian camp. As a college student, he invited me to help as a leader. On this particular trip, the plan was that I would lead 30 teenage campers to our first tent site. My father and my younger brother would join us at the campsite just an hour or two later.

The day went according to plan. We hiked to the picturesque valley where we would spend the night. I divided the teens into groups and had them begin setting up. I expected my dad and brother would arrive soon, but the short wait turned into hours of waiting. The afternoon became evening, so we set up campfires, cooked, ate, washed up, cleaned dishes, and put the food away. Finally, my dad and brother emerged from the shadowy woods.

They had made it to the trailhead but taken a wrong turn. They eventually discovered their error, turned back, and found the right trail. But they had turned a simple 4-mile hike into a grueling 12-mile day.

If you’re on the wrong trail, your effort and desire won’t get you to your destination. You will likely find yourself lost and further from where you want to be. This can happen all the time with our efforts to lead others. In my struggle with sin, I felt shame and condemnation. That made it hard to offer grace to others. As a leader, I was replicating the culture inside my head, despite wanting to create a culture of grace.

Grace is not a destination. We might think that if we could only practice a few simple principles, we would have a culture of grace. Grace can be a simple concept, but working these truths into our lives, homes, and places of worship can be a complex and multilayered adventure. Grace isn’t a place at which we arrive; grace is a journey we learn to embrace. Each experience of grace—each new understanding or deeper truth that works its way into our soul—takes us farther along the road.