This week my husband and I decided to go for a walk to check out one of the local attractions in the location we had chosen to take a 2 night retreat in. We had ventured down to Halls Gap, Victoria, and thought that we would take the trek to see ‘The Pinnacle’. From the car park we chose the journey was listed as 2km and suggested it would take around 40 minutes to reach the destination.

My first clue that this wasn’t just going to be a wander in beautiful bush surroundings was the fact that it was called a ‘hike’ and was rated as medium difficulty. This seemed a better prospect than the other route which was longer and rated as medium to hard, but we decided that we were reasonably fit and relatively young-ish so why not give it a go.

Not long into our adventure I discovered that my 8 year old runners that have almost no tread left on the sole were not the best choice for hiking this track. The path we were following had some sandy bits and rocky bits, but there was also a fair amount of clambering over large smooth rocks that had little opportunity for grip.

Another thing I noticed at the start was these little yellow triangles that seemed to be pointing the direction we were to follow. I kind of thought they were quirky and I didn’t appreciate just how valuable these markers would become to me. As we got further and further along the path it became evident that sometimes the direction we were to take was really obvious, and other times it looked like we had reached a dead-end, only to discover a little yellow triangle pointing us on.

We had been ‘hiking’ for 25 minutes, and I was feeling quite spent when we finished a particularly taxing section and came to a flatter path. I figured we must be coming nearer the end of our journey when we came around a corner and I could see the Pinnacle ahead of me. The only problem was, it appeared to be at the top of a completely different mountain, and a ridiculous distance away. Not only that, this path was heading down, not up, but there ahead of us, pointing us onward was another little yellow triangle and then a sign saying we were only 600m away from our destination.

We continued to pick our way up these last few hundred metres and at one point I found myself in tears, feeling quite anxious about how on earth I was going to be able to make my way back down the rocks as the path was quite difficult and steep. On top of that, we seemed to have lost sight of any yellow triangles. This was the closest I came to giving up, but as we rounded the corner we discovered that we had actually deviated from the path somehow. We came across the intended path, which appeared to be far less taxing and dangerous. The sense of relief I felt was palpable.

As we rejoined the triangled path my mind pondered the reality of endeavouring to follow a direction in life and how important it can be to keep an eye out for the markers that keep us on a track for our greatest success. For me, the equivalent to those little yellow triangles in my life is the word of God. The Bible gives me instructions for living my best life, whether it is about my relationships with friends or others, or building my character and becoming more like the example Jesus set. When I deviate from the life lessons contained therein my path is way more difficult than it needs to be.

A verse from Psalm 119 tells me that God’s word “is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Or in the Belinda Davis translation “is a little yellow triangle that points my way.”

We made it to the summit, and were able to follow every triangle on the way back down safely, and the view was well worth the effort. Greater still, was the reminder to hold tight to the guides in my life in the form of the word of God. I would like to encourage you to check it out for yourself as you trek through life too.

Be blessed.