Two Yellow Lines

Imagine you are walking on a side road that leads into a dark pine forest and as you continue to walk you start to see light grey clouds rolling in that bring with them a cold mist that is too thick to see through, but you know that as you’ve been walking that you’re on a paved road that is foundational, and that right in the middle of your feet are two thin, yellow lines. You decide that these are the lines you will keep walking because you know its sure to take you somewhere. 

When you decide to take this road, you knew you had to have a few things with you. So, on your back you have a backpack filled with what seemed most important to you to make this journey. The shoes you pick will help you keep moving on this road you are about to embark on. You’ll want durable shoes for different terrain you may come along in your path. 

There is a journal, compass, photos, and a notebook filled with notes taken from your past. Each personal item has as story of its own and represents something you’ve been carrying with you since the beginning of your journey.
The journal is filled with thoughts, memories, and words that you could only put down on paper  because of the raw emotion you felt that day.The compass was a gift from your family that help you remember that there is always one direct way to get north and it was passed down to you when it was time to go upon your adventure.The photos are to help you remember that your family, friends, and people you knew are with you whenever you feel home sick, or just need a good laugh at the ones with our brothers.
Lastly we have the notebook that is filled with the most valuable information that explains all about you and what you’ve been through already on this road before you were even old enough to remember. This is the story that lead you here! All these are stored and tucked tight into your backpack to carry with you to remind you of all that has transpired. 

While you’ve been walking, you begin to feel the weight of this backpack because some of the things within it brings you good and bad memories that you still struggles with or hope for. You begin your adventure on a cloudy day with mist that makes the day feel dreary, and it immediately makes you want to put on your cozy sweater. You feel the brisk chill in the air, and you begins to see that the road ahead is unclear and unfamiliar. 

You begin to worry about what really lies ahead. So you look around you and to your right and left and see a dark pine forest with its sturdy trucks and beautiful bark growing on the branches. The mysterious unknown forest incites curiosity and becomes more pleasing to the eye. The smell of pine needles gives you a sense of warmth.You also know that you’ve never ventured into the forest because you know that the road is straiter ahead. But curiosity always lingers and continues to make you doubt the path you are on. Now, we look ahead and all we can see is the mist and a very long and seemingly never-ending road. 

As you ponder on where to go next, you look down and see the shoes you carefully picked out and the two yellow lines underneath your feet. The yellow line have always been there and it’s something you’ve felt comforted by because it was so brightly yellow that even through the mist, you could see it The thought of doing something adventures takes over your safe-side thinking, and you begin to wonder off the lined path and go looking at what the forest has for you. 

As you go deeper into the forest, the road gets further and further away and you become consumed by mist and pine trees that intrigue your lust for what lies beyond. The forest gives no indication of how long you’ve been wondering, to the point that your lingering becoming to feel more like being lost. Your once curious mind begins to feel fearful and alone in a place that once gave you so much excitement..The same place is now bringing you down to the point of anxious thoughts, thoughts of no return. The trees seemed to almost have voices of their own and tell you of all your doubts, fears, and failures. Feeling so abandoned you get on your knees and go back to the only thing you’ve had the whole time during your travel. In your backpack, you find comfort in your journal that reminds you of who through it all God has been with you through many seemingly lost moments. That you had your compass the whole time, but you went on your own knowledge instead of what was north, straight and always true. Your photos remind you that you are never alone in your journey, and you don’t have to walk it alone, but you have people surrounding you in prayer. 

Then the very last thing you pull out of the backpack is that heavy notebook. How can a notebook full of my weakest moments be any help to leaving this place? You open the notebook and look back on some of the previous years of struggles and see how many times people and the voices continuously telling you the things you “can’t do” and those doubts made you question the truth rather than believing that you are “more than able to do.” You are reminded that these small treasures that God equipped you with all that you would need for this journey. You are far from being alone but can go back to where you were meant to be. 

The yellow-lined road, the road to recovery, it is the road to rediscover who God made you to be. 

Remember those shoes you specifically picked for this adventure? Well, those shoes are now shoes of peace and give you the strength to continue to walk the rest of this journey in boldness and the belief that God is good. What once seemed so hopeless now seems possible and as you walk with your compass in hand and your mind set on what is true, you can able to re-trace your steps and go back to the road that was your firm foundation. 

You begin walking on that old familiar road with the two yellow lines at your feet, and you begin to and reflect on why God placed those yellow lines their at your feet, and why the mist never seemed to lift. The Lord spoke and said, “I have given you these two yellow lines because you will often lose track of where your feet may lead you, but I’m am always constant and ready to walk side by side with you just like those two lines represent. The mist is a question that only you can answer, “Do you trust me although you cannot see what is coming?” 

We often want to see everything that is to come in our road, especially when we want to see results and have a fast recovery from pain and circumstances. But if we saw everything God was going to do in our life, then would we need him at all? Through this journey, we see that everything from the mist to the shoes has a part in the story, and although we don’t always see those details, we can be sure that if we follow the road with the two yellow lines that He will slowly reveal the beauty of the season we are walking in.
This is my story.