There is a path in a forest in Fitzgerald Park of Grand Ledge, MI that provided me with a journey spiritual in nature. I know that may sound a bit weird, but if you go there to see it, and provided that things haven’t changed too much since I’ve walked it years ago, I think you may find it helpful.

The path in mention was West of the parking lot, on the left side of the park as you come in. There was a small wooden bridge that marked its entrance. As you walk in you’ll notice that soon the path comes to a crossroads. Many of the paths there were used for a frisbee golf course which was a lot of fun, but for this journey, I saw more than par 4’s and par 5’s. It was at the first major intersection that the journey became clear. The path to the right went down a steep grade and then disappeared around a bend leading behind me. This spoke to me of where you leave and let go of the past, similar to where Christian let go of his burden at the cross in the story “The Pilgrim’s Progress”. Here I pictured it clearly as I laid down whatever burden I carried, and because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, it rolled away and was forever gone beyond sight.

Then there were 4 more different paths to choose from. The one to the right as I said before goes downhill, but the next one which also angled slightly to the right continued straight, deeper into the wood. This spoke to me of the clear path Jesus leads us on separating us from a destructive life. Then as with all metaphors, you have the choice to let it end or let it continue. If you let it end here, that’s fine, maybe you’ll see some wildlife or hear a wood thrush, one of my favorites, or go play some disc golf, but if you continue maybe you’ll see what I saw.

The path then after the straightaway clearly took a turn downhill and continued to the right, but if you saw it, there is also a small relatively unused path that went uphill briefly to the left. The path to the right spoke to me of the life of faith that slowly returns to the destructive call of this fallen world. But the small unused path to the left spoke to me of the “still, small voice” of God in 1 Kings 19:11-13 and of Jesus’ “narrow path” in Matthew 7:13-14. When I followed it, the path was no longer as clear as the wider one. I really had to pay attention to stay on track, but when I did, that path eventually lead to one of my favorite places on the trail.

After a small jump, it intersected with a larger path. It is along this larger path that I was afforded a sight that will ever stand out in my mind in regards to the change given to us by the leading of the Holy Spirit. There was a platform that gave a grand view of the surrounding landscape full of low points and high. It spoke to me of a hindsight view of life in all its variety. There was then a staircase that leads down to paths which eventually ended near the Grand River.

Now part of the wonder of that platform and stairs was the fact that I hiked it back before they had fixed it. The platform back then was old, worn, and falling apart, and the stairs were collapsing off the edge of a 10-foot drop into a shallow creek below. Old pieces of the stairs still remained and were left behind as a memory while the new staircase was built further in from the drop and on surer ground. This spoke to me of the old and dangerous path that once was and of the new one that we who follow Jesus now walk. It reminded me of the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7:24-27.

As I followed the path to the Grand, I thought of the trail blazed by Jesus that leads those who follow to their new life in Him. If you go there may you be reminded of the freedom you now have through His work on the cross. He paid the price for it, and we are to leave our burdens there and believe in Him.

There are many other things I saw on those paths, but hopefully, you’ll get a chance to walk there and wonder yourself.