Downhill Run

I was part of mission teams to the Traverse City area of Michigan for several years as we helped lead a week of camp up north. The last few crews that I led up there were able to travel a day early and spend some time sight-seeing at Sleeping Bear Dunes. It's a phenomenal park that has a 450 foot sand dune leading down the shore of Lake Michigan. While we never went down the dune we did enjoy watching other people run down to the shore. The descent can be accomplished in a matter of minutes, but the return to the top can take an hour or more. It's obviously much easier to run down the sand hill than it is to trudge upwards.

It's the same with some of the decisions that we make in our lives. We choose to run after things that may not always be wise for us (relationships, addictions, possessions, short-term gratification) without considering how difficult it will be to recover from our choices. The descent into our decisions doesn't always take long, but returning to a place of health will certainly be a lengthier process. This doesn't discount the immediate grace that God extends to us. It is, however, a powerful reminder of the earthly consequences for poor decision making and the difficult task that awaits us as we seek to rebuild our character.