Trail Upkeep – Life Upkeep

Previously (see here), I wrote about the plan to blaze a trail behind our church. The trail, a half-mile horseshoe loop has been 90% complete. It is completely cut, most logs have been lined along the trail, and a few 8 foot bridges span the tiny creeks and muddy spots.

But now, a new spring season is upon us and we need to refresh the trail. Green sprouts have risen all along the trail. Poison Ivy is peeking out at spots. Limbs, leaves, and more debris scatter the trail.

I first grabbed the Stihl Scythe and started the trail in sections. I do about 45 minutes of clearing all new life growing on the trail. Then I spent some time using a Stihl Leaf Blower to clear the debris. Then I repeat the process to get the small plants that got missed in the first round.

After that, drink my Gatorade, get refreshed, and return later in the day to do another leg of the trail.

Clearing a trail takes time.

And don’t forget the delays … today it was relocating and giving some water to a turtle who was walking the trail. He wasn’t very happy to see me. He went into hiding.

BUT … THIS CONNECTS TO THE WAY WE LIVE.

As I was slowly progressing down the trail, I made a quick connection to cleaning a trail to keeping our life clean too.

• We allow things to spring up in our life.
• We neglect regular maintenance.
• We are not vigilant and life gets messy … our shoes get … muddy.

So we have a choice … stay vigilant and keep the our life up on a regular basis … or neglect and then have to do a major upkeep endeavor. The Bible gives a warning … don’t give the Devil a foothold. Don’t allow the creeping in of messiness. Put things in place to protect your path.

Also, distractions will happen. Maybe not in the shape of a turtle, but in the shape of a sickness, car breakdown, friends needing help … you know, life happens. So we get dist ….. SQUIRREL … distracted.

What do we do when this happens? How do we spend some time in Life Upkeep?

• identify what needs to be removed (social media distractions, unhealthy habits, attitudes)
• Work at wacking those things down (limits on social media, remove apps that aren’t healthy, clean out junk food from the fridge, put hedges around your path)
• Clean up what you’re trying to get rid of (ask for forgiveness from those you’ve offended, replace what is unhealthy with what is healthy)

These are just thoughts I came across while working the trail. It’s just ramblings, but I think they are good ramblings.

Lat point – if you don’t upkeep the trail, the trail will be lost. If you don’t upkeep your life … it too could be lost, be ineffective, etc.

What would you do to upkeep your life when weeds and debris fills it up?

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Another last point … trail upkeep is easier when it’s done with a team. Pretty hard work all alone. Same in life.