“My life is not going as planned. I feel like I am lost in the woods and can’t find my way out,” the young man said.

“You are not lost. You are learning how to trust,” the old man replied.

“Trust?”

“Yes, you must learn how to trust yourself and believe that every step you have taken was in the right direction.”

“The right direction, old man, would have taken me out of the forest. I need to climb to the top of the mountain in life.”

“Not if you were meant to learn about trees. One cannot learn about trees standing on top of a mountain.”

“So, my whole life is to be lost in the woods? Trees are like obstacles that get in my way. They serve no purpose but to block my view.”

“What you can’t see is the obvious,” the old man said. He then asked, “Do you have faith in God?”

“Yes, but I can’t understand why He would leave me here. I have prayed for a way out and still I am lost.”

“What you see as an obstacle, may be the answer to prayer. Instead of cursing the things before you, understand why they are there.

When you ask God for help, you cannot limit the way He helps you. You see prayer like shopping for groceries. You make a list and expect to get everything on it. God takes that list and gives you what you need most and some things you didn’t ask for. You ask for success and God sends work to earn it. You ask for happiness and God sends you challenges that bring happiness. Faith is believing that when you journey into a forest you will arrive at a clearing.”

The young man stood silently.

“But, my friend, your time “lost in the woods” does not mean you will always be surrounded by trees,” the old man said. “The feeling of being lost in the woods means you are making your own path through life. That is a reflection of the faith God has in your ability to make it through a difficult journey. If you wanted it easy you should have stayed on the road paved by others before you.

The good news is that one day you will arrive at a clearing.”

Then placing his hand on the young man’s shoulder he continued.

“It is on that day when you will be thankful for the trees.”

At times life can be overwhelming. Your wanting things better will not make them happen, but wanting is the seed of dreams and believing is the nourishment that makes them possible.

If your journey has been difficult and you feel “lost in the woods,” stop for a moment and ask God to tell you about the trees that surround you. They were placed there not to block your view, but help you to appreciate the day you, too will “arrive at a clearing.”

Bob Perks Bob@BobPerks.com