Thanking Those Who Have Gone Before

This morning I went on a walk through the forest near our house. It was a new path I hadn’t been on, and there were a few muddy puddles crossing the path that I didn’t expect. However, some other people had come before me and put logs and other pieces of wood across the path so I didn’t have to go in the mud, or go too far off the trail, or find my own logs to cross the mud. I was so thankful they had done that, because when I started, I had no idea I would run into those mud spots.

It made me think of all of the people who have gone before me on the many different “paths of life” that I’ve traveled, but that did things to make it easier for me. Right now we have tulips coming up in our front garden. Every time I see them, I think of my dad. He helped me plant them. I had wanted to plant tulips for years, but never did because I wanted someone to show me how. He also helped me plant my first garden. He is a master gardener now, but he went through a lot of trial and error to figure it all out. I didn’t have to go through much trial and error; he just showed me what worked for him.

We don’t need people to pave the way for us. I could have figured out how to plant tulips or a garden on my own. Sometimes I like to use the excuse, “I don’t have anyone to show me how.” It’s really healthy and good to figure things out on our own, but there’s so much that other people have figured out for us already, and it’s a helpful practice to notice those things. I think it can generate motivation to figure things out for those who will come after us.

So thank you everyone that has gone before.