"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." (Heb
12:2 NIV)
Two years ago my family and I had the privilege of traveling to the beautiful
province of Nova Scotia. One of the highlights of our trip was our visit to Cape
Breton Highlands National Park, located on the northern portion of Cape Breton
island. There were a variety of hiking trails to choose from within the park,
twenty-eight to be exact. The only problem was, we only had two days to explore!
We would have to choose our trails carefully to make sure we got to see the
"best of the best".
The description of one of the trails, the "Skyline" trail, immediately attracted
our attention: "Watch for whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence from the viewing
decks. Moose, bald eagles, bears and numerous boreal birds live in this
habitat."
It was love at first sight: "We need to hike this one!" Insisted my wife.
My boys quickly jumped on the band wagon: "We want to see a moose!"
"Or maybe a bear," added one.
For once, we were all in agreement, and since the best time to see wildlife is
in the evening, and we planned our hike accordingly. When we arrived at the
trailhead, however, we were faced with a new dilemma: There were two trails
leading to the headland cliff overlook! One was about 3 kms long, and the other
was almost double in length, at 5.7 kms. Which one should we take?
After looking at the map for a few minutes, we decided that the shorter one
should be our choice, as it was better maintained and should be more feasible
for our kids, who were only eight and ten at the time. In addition, we figured
that a well-maintained trail would be an indication that it was more readily
used by tourists and would give us a better opportunity to spot wildlife.
The trail was easy enough to follow. Most of the time we were walking on a
boardwalk. Not wanting to scare off the animals, we tried to make the least
amount of noise possible, and we proceeded slowly, constantly looking over our
shoulders to not miss any wildlife. To our disappointment, however, the only
living creatures to be seen (and felt!) were mosquitoes!
Half-way up the trail, one of my boys started to complain: "There aren't any
moose! I'm tired! Let's go back to the car!"
We encouraged him to continue, telling him to keep watching, there had to be
moose. But when we finally arrived at the lookout, we still hadn't seen anything
outside of the insect category.
The lookout itself was well worth the hike. We had a complete view of most of
the Eastern Cabot trail winding around Cape Breton National Park. It was a bit
cloudy and the sun's rays reflected off different parts of the Bay of St.
Lawrence. Birds flew overhead and the cars on the distant road looked like
Hotwheels.
The view seemed to reinvigorate my boys. As we were heading back to the trail,
my oldest one declared: "I want to go back the long way. Maybe we will have a
better chance of seeing a moose!"
It seemed like a logical suggestion, but our eight year old was already spent.
Could he hold up for another 5.7 kms? We gave them some other options, even
suggesting that we split into two groups, one taking the boardwalk and the other
one taking the longer route; but both were adamant. They wanted to take the long
trail back! They wanted to see a moose!
"Don't be disappointed if we don't find one," I cautioned.
Then, out of the mouth of babes came the following suggestion: "Let's ask Jesus
to show us a moose!" And my oldest immediately began to pray: "Dear Jesus,
please help us to see a moose on the long trail! Amen."
The boardwalks were now gone and the trail covered much rougher terrain. About
two-thirds of the way back to the car, we noticed a group of people in the
distance. They were obviously looking at something, and as we approached, we
found ourselves nose to nose with a moose. It was a young one, and it didn't
seem afraid of us at all, for it stared directly at us as it methodically
continued to chew its dinner. We didn't move either, except to take some
pictures, that is!
We must have stayed there for over half-an-hour, and we wished we could have
stayed longer. Dusk was setting in, however, and we reluctantly moved on. A bit
farther, we found a bull moose with a full set of antlers. We were doubly
blessed! Before we got back to the car, we saw a total of five moose. We had
been looking for moose in all the wrong places, but once on the right path, they
were abundant.
How often in life don't we make decisions, always being certain that we are
making the right ones, only to find out later what a big mistake we've made! Our
self-assuredness leads to dead-ends. Once in a while we are lucky, but most of
the time we are greeted by disaster.
If we would rely less on ourselves and more on Jesus, what a different world it
would be. Selfishness would soon evaporate and make room for dependence on the
One who makes the real difference in our life. One quick prayer is all it takes
most of the time to have divine guidance to our situation. One can never make a
wrong decision when depending solely on Jesus. Why do we persist, then in trying
to make our own decisions?
Look out for moose! Do you really want to see one?
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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