Stay in the Father’s Path

"I can't wait to cross-country ski!" Reuben said as his father showed him how to step into the bindings. He pressed down the latch that held the skis to his boot. Dad handed Reuben the ski poles. "Just stay in my tracks and do what I do."Dad set out with a step and then glide, step, glide. It looked easy! Reuben had no trouble following in the tracks his father made. After a few minutes, Reuben was feeling so confident, he wanted to have a race. He stepped out from behind his father and began cutting his own path through the deep snow. To his dismay, he could barely move. Dad was gliding steadily ahead, but Reuben was wallowing like an elephant in a tar pit. His legs struggled to move, but it felt like rocks were in his boots. Dad didn't even notice Reuben was falling behind."Dad! Slow down!" Reuben called, and then he toppled over. Freezing, wet snow crunched into his mittens and around his ankles. Even worse, he couldn't stand up with the ungainly skis strapped to his feet.Dad swung around and quickly skied back to his son. He smiled down at him. "We're here to ski, Reuben, not take a nap!""It was so hard when I wasn't in your tracks!" groaned Reuben. "And I can't figure out how to stand up now."Dad showed him how to kick the skis above him and to the side and then push himself up with his ski poles. "It's always hard to make your own path in the deep snow," said Dad. "If you follow the path I make for you, it'll be much easier and you won't get stuck." "I found that out," said Reuben, laughing. "From now on, I'll just follow in your tracks.""Good." Dad smiled. "You know, sometimes we try to forge our own path in our Christian lives too. We forget that our heavenly Father has given us the Holy Spirit to help us follow Jesus and model His love and obedience in our lives. When we're tempted to stray from His path and do things our own way, we need to remember that God has given us the power to resist sin and love others like Jesus. He always forgives us when we get off-track and helps us get back on the right path." –Vicky Kaseorg