New Paths

 January 25, 2022

The first time is always the hardest, but the more you work at it, the easier it becomes. The sun was shining and the temperature hovered in the 20s, which made it a perfect day to get out the cross country skis and check my beehives. The only problem was, it has been snowing almost nonstop for two days, and the snow was almost up to my knees. I could only shuffle my way through the first pass around the yard, but after about five runs, the snow was tamped down enough that I was actually able to ski on the long stretches.

It’s too cold to actually open the hives and check on the colonies, but I could see on one of my long hives where they had dragged out the dead ones in their determination to keep the hive sanitary. As long as there aren’t too many laying on the snow, it’s a sign the colony is in good shape. Getting through winter is always a challenge, and waiting for spring can be a nail-biter.

But the exercise was good; as cold as it was, I worked up a sweat, and as I said, each time around was a bit easier. It’s true of life, too. Sometimes we hesitate to try something new, and if we try it, we give up because it’s harder than we thought and not worth the effort. But if we keep at it, it gets easier. The only caveat is, we must be doing the right thing. We often repeat the truism that “practice makes perfect,” but it doesn’t. As John Maxwell used to say, “Practice makes permanent.” If we practice the wrong things, we get the wrong results. Like my ski ruts, the path becomes easier the more we travel it. 

This is why it is often so hard to overcome sinful habits. It’s easier to stay in the rut than to break out and carve out a new trail. As Christians, we expect the power of the Holy Spirit to make new and better habits easier, but the only thing that makes them easier is keeping at it. Breaking away from the old is always difficult, so we continue in our old, destructive ways, praying for God to change us or work a miracle, when God is waiting for us to simply choose the new path. Once we travel it enough, it becomes easier, but that’s the end result, not the beginning. 

I carved a new trail, sweating my way through the snow. By the fifth time around the yard, this new trail was a pleasure to ski, and I was able to enjoy the workout and check out my bees. To top it off, I got a good life lesson out of the experience.