The Path

By Jessica H

I remember as a little girl how everything was simple and I did not have to worry about much. I followed a path that was narrow and easy with stepping-stones to lead me. This path lacked twists, turns, and rocky, hilly terrain that could easily make me confused or trip, fall, and hurt myself. I could easily move on to the next stepping-stone because my parents told me what to do and I did it. It was that simple. I have grown up in the church always believing in God because my parents did, and I received Christ at the age of five. I did not realize the importance of having a relationship with God until I moved from Baltimore, Maryland, to here, Berlin, New York. At this point in my life, I am still making God more personal to me. I had been going to Sunday school since I was three years old, and the only reason I had accepted Christ was that I did not want to go to Hell. I felt like I had no other worries in the world. Then as I started to grow up, things seemed to get harder and harder, and it scared me. Would I be able to make it in this chaotic world of bustling businesses and constant movement? 

            The road was not so straight anymore. There were many different turns I could make, and it was getting harder to choose if I should stay on the straight and narrow or try something a little different. Maybe I could try this left turn over here or that right turn up farther ahead. These roads seemed a little difficult sometimes, some with dark, luminous clouds overtop, and others with tall, jagged rocks leading over a mountain with mist. Some others seemed like they were more exciting than the path I was walking. My path was constantly beautiful, always looking the same. Deep green, rolling hills, dotted with trees of red, yellow, and brown leaves blowing in the wind surrounded my path. The sky was a baby blue with no clouds, and the sun constantly shone bright over my head. Some paths seemed even more beautiful than mine did, because as I traveled, the same thing repeated, and I began to get bored. These paths led to a dark place where I got lost. As first I stopped and saw a path with hills, more green than the hills I was used to seeing, and a sky just a tad more blue with a brighter sun. Then, as I started down this path, my surroundings started to get darker. The hills were not so green, and the sky was not as beautiful as it first seemed. In fact, as I walked along, the hills almost seemed dead with brown grass and rotting trees, and the sky looked as if it started to get gloomier. I just decided to pretend that nothing was wrong, until I woke up in a dark cave with glowing, red insidious eyes staring out from the darkness, planning evil things for me. Scared and alone,