A Man in the Woods
One day, a man went walking on a trail, his heart focused on God. he saw a steep slope. He thought before he approached it: “Can I climb this slope?” The probable answer was no; it was steep, it was slippery, covered in leaves and muddy…but the man said: “I have faith that I can climb it.” So he approached it, and started to walk up the relatively steep slope. He slipped halfway up. Had he thought he was unable to do it, he would have been forced to just fall down in desperation. But he had faith, and he scrambled to keep his feet moving upwards. He dropped his hands for balance, and after lowering himself, he was able to climb this slope successfully.
He continued up the path, and came to another slope. It was steeper than the first, and much muddier. The man surveys the slope and begins to doubt. “I could barely do the first one, now this?” However, he decided to attempt it. Remembering the lesson from last time, he looked to lower himself.. Unfortunately, this slope was too steep, the man’s faith and/or abilities not good enough. But, before he fell, he saw a root, and caught a hold of it. With this pause, he saw a rock. He stood on the rock and used the root to pull himself up to the tree it anchored, and while grabbing that he was able to climb the seemingly impossible slope.
Looking down, the man pondered the implications of what he had just done. With the first slope, he realized that if he had not kept pressing when he ordinarily thought he had failed, he would have indeed failed. He also learned that he had to lower himself to gain greater heights. With the second slope, the man realized that placing his footing on the mud was a sure path to failure. But once he found good, solid footing, he was able to reach his goals.
The man learned to experience nature once in awhile; it is God’s creation, and much is to be learned from it.
The man then retired to his dorm, lamenting the sorry state of his muddy shoes.
