Reflections from St Beuno's: Paths

The route to the top of Snowdon

At St Beuno's I normally meet with my retreat director at 10.15am, but on the Sunday this meeting was rescheduled to 5pm.  The forecast was for beautiful weather, so I decided to take the opportunity to walk up Snowdon.  I planned my route, and set off in good time to walk up the mountain.  But on arriving at Snowdon I discovered that the car park I intended to use was already full, despite still being early in the morning.  I had to drive a couple of miles down the valley before I found somewhere to park.

From where I was parked, it was a long walk up the valley to reach the path that would take me up Snowdon.  So instead I decided to take another path, which I hoped would lead me to the summit.  Half way up the mountain I lost the path, and searched for what I believed would be a safe route to the summit.  However the higher I climbed, the more difficult and dangerous the route I had chosen became.  Eventually I realised that the only sensible and safe decision was to turn back, and retrace my steps, because the path I was on was clearly unsafe.  

Heading down the mountain, I did eventually manage to find the correct path, which led me safely to the summit of Snowdon.  

The summit of Snowdon

As I was reflecting on this walk, it made me wonder whether we recognise when we've taken the wrong path in life, and if so what do we do about it?  Do we keep on following this path, or do we try to find our way back unto the correct track?  On a mountain the dangers of taking the wrong path can be all too evident, but in life it may not be so obvious.  

May God be our guide as we journey through life.