Split in the Path

I went running the other day on a trail that's new to me. It wasn't marked very well and I found myself lost a few times. In a few places, the trail split off into two different directions, leaving me unsure of which one to go. I chose one and after running down it for a few minutes, realized it was probably the wrong direction. So, those times I realized I had more than likely gone the wrong direction, I backtracked and followed the other direction the trail led.

I had recently downloaded a pedometer onto my iPod and was using it to track my mileage during my run. As I was thinking about it, I realized that my pedometer didn't stop counting my steps when I had to backtrack, but it added to them.

Sometimes, the trail we are on isn't clearly marked, and we are faced with a split in the road and the decision of which direction to take. We might take one direction, thinking it was the right one, only to realize it wasn't. So, we backtrack and go the direction we should have gone.

But, God doesn't discount the steps we've already taken, though they might have been in the wrong direction. He doesn't get mad at us when we falter and lose our way, but because of His grace, mercy, love, and kindness, He uses those experiences/steps to our advantage. He uses the things we learn on that wrong trail to teach us so that they can be used on the path He wants us to take.

Not only this, but He'll use us to help others to know which direction to go and not to go. We've already run the trail, and we know which direction leads the right way.