ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
November 8, 2026
You’ve probably read it before, but on a picture of a friend’s desk, there was a plaque in the background with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson. It read, “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” As a kid, I refused to walk on the trail. There was a time when I was going down the side of a wooded canyon, and I ended up going literally head over heels. Thank goodness that I was a good gymnast, and I knew how to tuck and roll… and roll and roll some more. Later, my friends pointed out how I had created a new path down the side of the canyon. There was probably no one interested in following, but I made my own way. Sometimes it is good to trust those who have gone before us. Yet let’s be honest and acknowledge how the well-worn and comfortable path is only going to take us where it was designed to take us. There are times when the Spirit of God is beckoning us toward a very different destination. It is enticing to choose the path that is so deeply entrenched that no map or directional sign is required. Avoiding the bumps and bruises associated with forging a new path sounds much better to most folks, yet when it comes to the fulfillment of God’s dream that lies in another direction along a path that does not exist, I believe we can trust God to help us find a way forward that was previously unimagined.
I trust you, God of the Journey, and I will do my best to follow you, whether that is down the well-known path or something new. Provide me courage to discern what is needed through prayer, study, and an ongoing awareness of the Spirit. Amen.
