What Lies Ahead by Barry Hughes

As the sun was rising on the quiet, beautiful park in my neighborhood, I happened upon this interesting scene. Since it was so early, there were few people out and about. There were certainly no families present with a little one that would fit this tiny, beginner-sized scooter. So as you can imagine, I was thoroughly intrigued by this image.

Where did the child go? What brought an end to the previous evening’s ride which had led to this spot on the park trail? Will I find the scooter in the morning when I pass this way again? Did a parent, in a rush to make the next event on their family’s crowded schedule, tell the child to “just leave it there”, or will they spend time on this morning searching high and low for this mysteriously missing mode of transport? I wonder.

The contrast of the small scooter and the openness of the vast dew-soaked field seemed powerful to me. What might it represent? A young child with their whole life stretching out before them? Perhaps an adult whose career was upended by the current economic crisis, striking out into new, unknown possibilities? Maybe a life in that wonderful, difficult moment of young adulthood where decisions are made that are both daunting and exciting? There are so many experiences in every chapter of life where we can feel small in comparison to what lies ahead, where we can feel overwhelmed, where we are at a loss to choose between the options that lay before us.

Robert Frost wrote of the road less traveled. Scripture speaks often of individuals called to follow God into an unchartered future. Yogi Bera said that “when you come to a fork in the road, take it.” All point to those moments when we move on into what’s next. It is scary. It is bittersweet. It can be overwhelming. But it is in the going that we find our life. It is the going that IS life.

Peace.