Who's Your Sherpa

The humble he guides in justice, and the humble he teaches his way.  Psalm 25:9
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There are a lot of things I’d like to do.  I want to see Niagara Falls, go to Hawaii and sit on a sunny beach.  There are even more things I don’t want to do like visit a reptile farm, run a race and climb a mountain; all three of those things sound equally as awful to me!  I know for a fact that I don’t have what it takes to do any of those three things…especially climb a mountain.  As I get older, I have discovered that there used to be more things on the “I don’t want to” list but sometimes life just gives you no choice.  For instance, I always said I’d never design and build a house or rent a car in an unfamiliar state, but I have done both in the last couple of years because it’s just how it had to be.

It's funny that when it came to doing those things I didn’t want to do, help came along at the right time and the task was way better than I had imagined. I heard a man recently whose life goal was to climb Mt. Everest and I listened with fascination as he shared all the planning and prepping, he’d been doing for the last couple of years to prepare.  After listening to his long list, I easily came to the conclusion that I indeed was not a mountain climbing kind of girl.  When asked if he was worried about the danger, he explained all about the role of a Sherpa.  He explained that a Sherpa was an expert climber and guide.  Sherpas are from mountain areas, and they are used to the climate, the climb, navigation, and terrain.  He felt assured that a Sherpa would make the adventure successful. 
I thought about this guy and his adventure for the next several weeks and decided some days I could really use a Sherpa of my own.  Sometimes staying on the path to sainthood is rough going!  There are many times I could use the expert direction of someone who was familiar with the route to heaven and could help me avoid the dangers and pitfalls of the journey.  I daydreamed about how much easier holiness would be if there was a Sherpa directing me, protecting me and teaching me every step of the way.  But then I realized I do have a Sherpa…actually I have several of them in fact, and so do you.  Now, they aren’t the kind of Sherpa who will carry our things, set up our camp and walk ten steps ahead of us at all times but they are there to guide us nonetheless.  I decided to make a list of all my Sherpas and here’s what I came up with.

The Saints are like our Sherpa.  They lived a life that honored and followed God just like we’re trying to.  They didn’t always take the right path or the most direct route, but their example of service and devotion serves as a guiding light for us.  Mama Mary is absolutely our Sherpa…she has only one mission and that is to lead us to her Son. Regular people can also be our Sherpa.  There are people filled with wisdom and strength and faith.  There are people who are suffering with grace and trust.  There are people who are teachers and leaders who share their ideas and insights with us.  When I really think about it, sometimes God chooses a little person to be a Sherpa.  Kids can be wise and cut right through to the heart of things.  The thing is, we can have as many Sherpas as we want but if we don’t listen to them, trust their wisdom and follow where they lead, we’re not going to end up reaching our destination.  A Mountain Sherpa is constantly checking, observing, adjusting and has enormous respect for God’s might and creation.  I certainly can’t climb a mountain even with the help of the most spectacular Sherpa ever but tuning in to the wisdom and direction of the Sherpas God has put in my life is something I can do with a little trust and surrender.  I think I’ll begin with some wise words from a Sherpa that crossed my path recently and said, “If you can’t see God in ALL things, you can’t see God in ANYTHING.”
 
 
A Seed To Plant:  Where are some places in your life you could use a little direction from a Sherpa? Take that to prayer and pick one to follow!
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Blessings on your day!