Let’s Take a Shortcut

Those words make Ardella plant her feet on the ground like she is glued there and her eyes pinpoint deep into mine. I can’t understand why! A shortcut in the woods is full of unknown adventure and surprises. It can really liven up a day; create lifetime memories.

One fall, our son-in-law Thane, Ardella, and I headed into a high basin to hunt. Thane and I had archery tags for elk and Ardella took her rifle for bear. We walked in using an old road that was grown up with alder so it took a while to reach our destination. I think the only game we saw was a mule deer bounding off into the brush and way too soon it was time to leave this remote spot and head back to the truck. As we started to head back down the road I noticed a dry creek bed that dropped off the mountain side and looked inviting. It would save us miles of walking the road and it came out right by the truck. How could we go wrong? Ardella didn’t quite agree for some reason. Of course Thane understood my sound judgment and thought it would be great. Thane took the lead and all went well for about one hundred yards then the dry creek plunged off the mountain. We were soon in a small canyon the stream had cut into the rock formation and the walls crept higher. Ardella was following me and I could hear her mumbling words like crazy, idiotic, unbelievable. I think it was caused by high altitude sickness or maybe because the light was fading and the little canyon getting tighter. Suddenly Thane stopped and told us there was a ten foot drop off which in the spring would have been a great waterfall. He slowly climbed down the rock wall and made it fine. I turned and look at Ardella and decided I should take her rifle for safety reasons. Not hers, ours!

I tried to cheer up us by saying we could proudly claim no other people had probably ever set foot where we were going. It was like making history! Now I know how Lewis and Clark felt. We ran into a pine marten that was very surprised to see human life in this rocky domain. Finally just as the last light was leaving the day, we bumbled out at the truck and a bear greeted us with a loud woof as it rocketed down the mountain side.

Shortcuts can be dangerous too. Late in the deer season many years ago, pre four wheel drive days, I walked up a Forest Service road early one morning. It had snowed about fifteen inches that night so I left the Luv pickup at the bottom along the lake. After walking a mile an a half, I cut some fresh deer tracks and soon took a large doe. I tied a rope around her neck and proceeded to drag her back to the truck. The doe was easy to pull but when I arrived at a curve, the truck was visible straight below me. I decided to take her over the side even though it was very steep, to save a half mile of dragging. Instead of me pulling the doe; she was pulling me and we were soon sliding down the mountain making good time. She hung up on a small tree and I was going to flip her loose when I noticed the slope seemed to change. I let go of the rope and let her go and the doe disappeared from sight. I carefully lowered myself a few feet and discovered she had plunged off a one hundred foot cliff. Had I followed holding the rope, I would have gone with her and been badly injured or killed. I slowly worked my way to the doe and pulled her to the truck without incident.

We are tempted to shortcut many things in life in this fast paced world. Usually it results in a wreck. The worst is leaving God out of our daily life. Most people want Him only when a disaster strikes. Jeremiah says ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it. God is concerned about our path of life and wants to show us the good way. That means there is a bad way, concealed by Satan to look good. Oh, we are so tempted to take those paths, those shortcuts. Ask God to help you with the good path and you will discover He is waiting for you. Prayer is a great way to start. Then listen for His reply.