Bear Tracks

   

I had been looking forward to a nice hike up in the mountains. We were spending a few days in nature with friends, and the hike up on the mountain was high on my wish list. The setting was beautiful and the scenery from the top was breathtaking. We collected delicate flowers, an orange feather, took many pictures of the view, and had fun exploring when we decided to go for a hike. While exploring we started noticing different tracks. Some human foot prints, deer prints, some we new belonged to dogs, and then we saw them…bear tracks! They looked pretty dry so I assumed they weren’t recent, but as a group we became naturally a little more alert of our surroundings. One member of the group expressed that it was probably a good time to go back to our car, but not everyone agreed.
    We continued exploring the trail, taking in the beautiful scenery, the mountain top views, the different type of birds with their songs, and enjoying the fresh mountain air when we stumbled upon another set of bear tracks...smaller bear tracks. We thought they might be from a cub and where there is a baby bear, there is most likely a mother bear. This time there were more expressions of concern and even fear. Some in our group strongly expressed the need to go back and as I learned that day, fear is contagious. I finally asked who wanted to go back and it was decided that the majority was ready for a u-turn.

    We hiked back where there was a restaurant and more people, a safer place to explore. As we were looking around we found a map of the trails in the area. When we looked at the trail we had come from, we noticed that in the middle of the loop there was a lake. A mountain top lake! How cool it would have been to have seen it. It must have been beautiful. As we all pondered on the idea of a lake on top of the mountain, someone suggested going back and finding the lake, but by then it was time to get back to ground level. Just then we realized that we had missed a great opportunity because we allowed fear to dictate what we should do. Fear had won and we missed out on something that could’ve been really cool.
   

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world. We were definitely defeated by our fear of possible bears and may have missed out on a very nice experience. I’m not saying we should be careless with wild life. We should be very cautious and alert, but there were other groups on that trail, before and even after us and the tracks didn't seem too recent.
    Fear can be very debilitating in our lives, not only when hiking in the great outdoors. Think about the fears you have. Maybe you’re afraid of flying on an airplane, so you miss out on experiencing beautiful places that are far away. Maybe you’re afraid of changing careers, but you may be missing out on a great professional experience. You may be afraid of telling that special someone that you like them, but you may miss out on the relationship of your life! Maybe you're afraid of restoring an old friendship damaged by hurt feelings, but you’ll be missing out on the peace and joy that comes from forgiving and being forgiven. Maybe you're afraid of committing to a life of following God, but you'll be missing on your greatest adventure for this life and for eternity. Perhaps your fears are preventing you from running after your dreams, but you may miss out on the mission and purpose of your existence.
    Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, once said: “One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t do.” It’s amazing what we can do when we overcome our fears. Don’t let fear get in the way of your dreams or of reaching your full potential. You and God can do all things together. We fear what could be, often an idea that is only in our mind, but if we overcome that obstacle, we will have wonderful opportunities. So get up and face your fears head on. Perhaps on the other side of the trail you’ll get to experience a beautiful mountain top lake. 

"Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

Isaiah 41:10