Canal vs. South Loop

I wouldn’t necessarily call it a favorite path, but the Hennepin Feeder Canal Trail is frequently used and enjoyed. We access it about a quarter mile from our house, hence the frequent use.

The trail is nice because it’s flat and straight—in other words, easy! From the trailhead near our home, one could walk a straight, flat path for almost 30 miles, but we’ve never tried that.

However, when we want to get in a few miles of hiking but have little time to drive to a more exciting or challenging trail, we head to the canal path.

The trail network in a park we discovered recently is of far greater interest. Scott County Park, about fifteen minutes north of Davenport, Iowa, proved a surprising find. We had a little extra time on my day off, so I opened the AllTrails app and started looking for a place not too far away that offered several miles of trail.

We headed to Iowa and arrived at Scott County Park in a little more than an hour. The fairly large park offers an elaborate network of trails, some of which allow horses. We opted for the four-mile South Loop trail. At least, AllTrails said it was almost four miles. Actually, was over five.

The map showed that the trail had many twists and turns, but I didn’t realize that it was probably more used for mountain biking! Nevertheless, on the day of our hike, temperatures were in the upper 30s to mid 40s, and we encountered no bikes…thankfully.

But the trail!

In stark contrast to the canal path, the South Loop trail had only a few short, straight sections. We were constantly turning in one direction or the other, sometimes taking hairpin turns, constant twists and turns, ups and downs.

“PUDS,” I commented to my wife.

“PUDS???”

“Yes, AT thru-hikers note that a long stretch of the Appalachian Trail is marked by PUDS—Pointless Up and DownS!”

We didn’t mind it, actually. Was a good workout for the legs and nice variety. Now, if we had fifty miles of it, that would be a different story.

So dramatic were the turns that, in some places, we could look to the right or left and see a trail a few feet away, only to find ourselves on it a couple of minutes later—you almost meet yourself coming and going!

While traversing the path, it occurred to me how these contrasting paths—Canal and South Loop—serve as metaphors for life.

Think with me here.

In our youth—when it finally dawns on us that life isn’t all fun and games—we tend to see life (or at least a good chunk of it) like the Canal Path: a straight line from where I am to where I expect or hope to be by the time I reach retirement years.

In our youthful naivete, we have no idea, do we?

Far from a straight, flat, easy path, life is fraught with twists and turns and ups and downs and hairpins and detours and maybe a dead end or two along the way. We may even find ourselves in a loop—right back where we started after months or years along an unknown-to-us circuitous path.

Looking at this description on paper, some might argue that they don’t want the Canal Path—too boring and predictable! They’d rather experience the excitement and spontaneity of the South Loop!

Fine, when you’re talking metaphors. Far more poignant when you face the unexpected turn of getting fired or laid off…the descent of a health crisis…the long climb out of a mountain of unexpected debt…the gut-wrenching twist of bitter betrayal or sudden death of a loved one…the PUDS of family life, interpersonal relationships, the economy, politics…..

I came across a few applicable texts of Scripture that may help us here.

The “preacher” of Ecclesiastes remarks,

“Consider the work of God: who can make straight what He has made crooked?” (7:13)

This gives, I believe, a bird’s eye perspective on “the path.” It’s the one God laid out for me, and all my plans of taking the “Canal Path” toward my hoped-for destination won’t change it. What to do when encountering a hairpin turn?

In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, so that man can find out nothing that will come after him.

– Ecclesiastes 7:14

In other words, trust God’s mysterious, sovereign plans.

The psalmist offers another bit of counsel.

Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.

– Psalm 5:8

Essentially, he’s advising us to pray about that crooked path instead of taking the default approach.

What’s that, you ask?

I don’t know about you, but I tend to charge forward and try straightening things out myself, usually making more of a mess in the process.

Then there’s this text in Isaiah:

“I will go before you and make the crooked places straight…”

– Isaiah 45:2

God spoke this to Cyrus, king of Persia, promising military success—no foe would successfully stand in his way.

The point is, I can’t make straight what God has made crooked, but He can! And in terms of using me to accomplish the purpose He’s established for my life, in some way He will.

One more text needs some emphasis.

Therefore, strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

– Hebrews 12:12-13

Here I discover some personal responsibility for whether or not the path is straight. An explanation is in order.

Prior to this passage, the writer challenges us to “lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race set before us, looking unto Jesus” as the supreme example (12:1-2).

Further, he discusses the need to strive against sin (12:4) because, after all, it will surely throw you off course!

Then, he reminds us of the value and necessity of divine chastening on account of the ensnaring sin and needless “weights”—the loving discipline of our heavenly Father expressed toward His children. Though certainly not pleasant, if endured properly, it produces “the peaceable fruit of righteousness.” (12:5-11)

Then comes this: “Therefore…make straight paths for your feet.”

I believe what he’s getting at is this: Some of the “crooked paths” are of my own making, due to my sinful choices and the needless baggage I carry. I stumble in weakness and feebleness, “twisting my knee” in the process. God disciplines me in such times, not in angry vengeance but in loving training so that I will avoid the crooked paths in the future.

Now, it’s my responsibility to accept and learn from the chastening, find renewed strength, and put forth holy effort to eliminate from the path ahead the needless, sinful, damaging turns I followed before. Therein I find healing in that twisted limb!

In summary, some twists and turns in the path of life are there by divine appointment for my good and His glory. Those won’t be altered; they need to be followed, and in the end, I’ll be grateful.

But others are of my own making because of my sin and foolishness. Ah, but not all is lost! By divine grace, these can be “made straight!”