The Path of Least Resistance

My mind has been a jumble of thoughts these last few days. This post will undoubtedly be the jumbled ramblings of trying to sort out the lesson God is trying to teach me. I started an exercise routine yet again! I am known for starting and stopping, like many people who need to lose some weight and get in shape. It definitely isn't easy. I'm on week two and taking it slow and easy. I am up to a warm-up, a brisk four minute treadmill walk, a thirteen minute jog, a four minute brisk walk, and a cool down. I don't know that I've ever run thirteen straight minutes before. I know that many of my readers are avid runners, marathoners, and half marathoners so please be kind!

In gym class at school we always had running day where we did nothing but run. But, not one of my best friends and me. No...we would run half way around the soccer field, drop down and roll down the slight hill. We would lay at the bottom of that hill by the fence, talking until the whistle blew that meant "last lap." We would then jog up and finish the terrible running, making one complete lap for the entire twenty minutes of running. And no, we never got caught. So I guess you could say in the race of life, I have a tendency to take the easy road, the path of least resistance, the road well traveled.

Today, we were walking around Weber State's campus, getting things set up for Justin's last semester of school before graduating. Weber's campus is hilly and filled with stairs and ramps. My thighs are stiff and sore from all this running I am not used to. Justin asked me which way I would like to walk back to the car and I immediately answered, "The path of least resistance." That really is human nature, isn't it? To follow the path of least resistance? To take the easy road or the easy way out.

But if we always take the easy way out, what happens when there is no easy way out? We can't even run the race then. We have to give up, sit out, or surrender to the pain. God's plan does not involve giving up though. His plan involves being refined, having trials of our faith, learning to rely upon Him.

My life has not been trial free. I've had my fair share. I've also met people who have had more than I ever thought I could handle. They have walked through the refiner's fire and come out fit for God's kingdom. In my darkest moments and in the thick of adversity, I have learned lessons I could not have learned otherwise. Lessons like, communing with the Lord is different than following the Lord. Like, the Atonement of Christ is powerful enough to wash away my sins but gentle enough to wipe away my tears. Like, God hears and answers prayers. Like, the Comforter fulfills his responsibility flawlessly. Like, hope is a powerful word and a more powerful virtue.

So, although my nature yearns for the path of least resistance, my spirit values my trials. I know that I am aspiring to the company of greater spirits who have gone before me, in the face of horrendous trials and in the pit of despair they have trodden. I will walk in their footsteps and learn that God's plan is to ultimately bring to pass my immortality and Eternal Life if I will let Him.