By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
The guide and I walked a rutted dirt road used by Forest Service vehicles. Pine, scrub oak, and aspen bordered the road on each side. All was quiet – blissfully absent of people, their machines, and their devices.
As we moved deeper into the forest, the guide stepped off the road and struck out through the thick of things.
“Walk where I walk,” he said. “Don’t step on logs – they can roll and throw you off balance.”
Every year he took his son hunting, and he said the boy was beginning to listen and step in his dad’s footprints when they trekked through the woods.
I did the same, for I was hunting too, but not for deer, elk, or bear. No gun for me, but rather my Nikon camera. I was hunting aspen, and we had driven to the high country to find the best shots of the yellow trees in their natural habitat.
We were successful.
A few weeks later during elk season, a preacher/hunting guide recounted what he always told his hunters.
“Step where I step. You don’t want to walk into cactus or slip on a wet rock. Walk in my footsteps.”
It sounded familiar.
These two guides were experienced in the wild. They knew what they were talking about. And listening to them gave me a new appreciation for what the Bible says about God as my guide.
If I let Him, the Lord will guide my steps. He makes that promise over and over. I can break out on my own – and often do – but with eventual regret. God knows more about this business called life than I do.
When I think of Him as my guide, I have an intimate picture of Him on the trail with me, in the forest with me. Psalm 16:8 says, “I have set the Lord always before me.”
Praise God, it’s never too late to submit to the Lord as our Guide.
Yet I am always with You.
You lead me by my right hand,
You guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward You will take me into glory.
Psalm 73:23
Additional scriptures on the Lord as our Guide:
“Seth!”
At the fear in her voice, he dug his heels in and raced up the trail. She wasn’t far.
“He’s gone. Chester’s gone. We have to go back.”
The snow fell heavier now, laying down a thick blanket. “You brought the dog with you?”
“I know. It was foolish of me.”
Seth snorted. That wasn’t the only foolish thing she’d done, but pointing that out wasn’t going to help matters. “When did you notice him missing?”
“Just now—a few seconds ago. I hadn’t paid attention until you met us on the trail. I just assumed he was following in my steps like he had been.”
“Stay here. I’ll ride back a ways, see if I can find him.”
No surprise when she gathered herself and turned her horse. “I’m going with you.”
Arguing with her was pointless and time consuming, and at the moment time was what they didn’t have.
Fresh snow nearly filled their trail that grew fainter the farther they rode. The old dog must have fallen, unable to make it in the cold. Seth felt the loss deep inside, but the dog wasn’t worth Abigale’s safety. He reined in.
“Abigale.”
She rode past him.
He heeled Coop into a lunge and the horse sprang around in front of her. “Abigale—I understand Chester is important to you. But he’s not worth your life.”
At a whimper, they both turned.
Seth swung the gun barrel forward and gave Coop his head, but the horse began to blow and quake, shied to the right.
A snowy mound on the trail uttered a weak growl. Seth raised the gun and aimed across his horse, into the brush on the left.
A blur sprang to the trail … ~Just in Time for Christmas
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
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(c) 2021 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
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Your book sounds very intriguing and the cover is Beautiful! Thank you for sharing about it. Have a Great week and stay safe.
Thank you, Alicia. Blessings to you~