The road not taken

The Road not taken

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

This poem has been slowly simmering in my head for years now. It’s the way that Frost beautifully paints a small butterfly moment, a choice that cannot be revisited but only lived. But the ending is the part that keeps kneading thoughts in my mind. The road less travelled is the one that made all the difference. 

This echoes in my head what Jesus said all those yeas ago...

And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’

Luke 13:23-25

It’s a choice and it is one that we all have to make. That point when you look at those two roads, the time to make that decision and decide which road to take, just remember that way leads on to way and that you are unlikely to find your way back.

But for me I can honestly say as Frost says:

the road less travelled by has made all the difference...

 

...and I regret nothing.

Bless the LORD, O my soul

The first time that I came across this thought processes was a year ago, in a very pink hostel room in the middle of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. But recent events have brought these things back to the forefront of my mind.

Psalm 103:1-5   

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

It is mind boggling to me that our souls and bless God. I mean just ponder that thought for a second. What is a blessing? I've always been able to understand what it is by viewing it as the opposite of a curse. When God pours down his blessings on us, great things happen in our lives and in our hearts. Does not Ephesians say that we have received every spiritual blessing? Now take that barrel of thoughts and add it to what David wrote above. This is mind boggling. The great I AM, the only truly perfect and holy one in and outside of this universe, the only one who is truly complete and lacking in nothing and is worthy of every ounce of creations praise. Our souls can bless that God! There is part of my mind that cannot seem to fully comprehend this, but I can fully accept it.

I understand why David would want to tell his soul sing to and bless God. When you have received that forgiveness, that grace and mercy you can only revive through Christ, how can you not want your soul to Bless the Lord? So whatever it looks like, I want my soul to bless the Lord. As Matt Redman puts it in his new song...

Selah...