I love being in the mountains; and one of my favorite ways to experience the mountains is via snowmobile. I frequently snowmobile in the Utah mountains and have a few favorite areas in the Utah backcountry by Strawberry Reservoir.
To get to my favorite area you need to get off the groomed trail. A local Morgan Hill friend, Daniel Redfield and I, found this area by looking at a satellite map to determine the area and then by following other snowmobile tracks through the trees for about half a mile to reach it. Over the years, I’ve always had to follow the tracks of others to reach it. Each time I’ve tried to blaze my own trail to the area I’ve gotten stuck.
Earlier this winter I visited that area again and followed well-worn tracks to get there. The tracks were so rutted that it was difficult, because it was extremely bumpy. The next day it snowed about 6 to 8 inches and the trail was lost, so we opted to go a different way.
As we did so, we noticed some large snowcat tracks that we were able to follow. This helped tremendously as the trail was now wider and easier to navigate, as well as much smoother as the weight of the snowcat had smoothed out the bumps.
We were able to catch up to the snowcats and follow them the last little bit as we arrived in the area at the same time and thanked them for blazing the trail for us.
In life, when it gets tough and challenging, it’s nice when we can follow the path of others that have smoothed the rough trail for us. We can turn to trusted friends and those in our communities and faith groups for support and help so we’re not fighting the storms of life alone. We can look to trusted faith leaders to uplift us and strengthen us during our trials and challenges. We don’t need to go through this life alone and it’s okay to reach out to others when we need help.
I am also a firm believer in prayer. We can turn to God through prayer for help and ask Him to comfort, strengthen us and guide us as we go through our trials and storms. As I have done this, I have felt His guidance and strength.
Sometimes in life we might be the ones blazing the trail, but at other times we may need to rely on others to blaze the path for us and for us to draft behind them as we regain strength. We can pray for that strength and how best to use that strength to help others when it’s our time to lead and be a support to others.
Matt Deakin is the Bishop of the Morgan Hill Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is a member of the Interfaith Clergy Alliance of South County. Bishop Deakin can be reached at bishopdeakin@gmail.com.
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