The path laid out before me.
The road not as scary as it seems.
‘Yea though I walk through the valley of shadows’
Has taken on a deeper, truer meaning.
With heart wide open and a life surrendered.

‘Shadows of death’, no longer so scary.
‘Green pastures’, no longer the chase, but the norm.
‘A table set before me’, the melody of this song
Though I may not always like the feast presented.
I have learned to walk this path.
I have learned to run this path.
So why do I still stumble?

A path so adventurous, so enlightening, so familiar.
A path through uncharted waters, uncharted plains.
A path where mountains are lowered and valleys are raised
Not in my strength or knowledge, but simply through grace and mercy.
A path that I never ever walk alone.
So why do I still stumble? Why do I find myself still prone to fall?

I am diligent; eyes and heart wide open, mind surrendered.
I prepare for the preparation, and am prepared in the preparation.
I see the pot holes, the divots, the cracks.
I have trained to hop, jump, slide, duck.
Evasive maneuvers to avoid the parts that are not so even.
So why do I stumble? Why do I fall?

I stumble. I fall. I bruise myself, and sometimes I bleed.
I stumble, I fall. I battle mind against Spirit, body against heart.
I stumble, I fall. It all seems too much, what would it mean to give up?
I stumble, I fall. Over and over it seems.
I stumble, I fall. I stumble, I fall. So I return to be taught.

I remember the point where grace meets mercy.
I remember that I am only human.
I remember that it is ‘no longer I but Him’.
I am reminded that my focus needs to shift.

Not to how many times I stumble or fall.
But to how I choose to rise and keep on.
Do I choose trust, even with bruises and blood?
Do I learn to even out the ground?
I am reminded that my focus needs to shift.

So I release myself to learn from each stumble.
I open myself up, to learn from each fall.
That I may learn to walk this path better.
That I may learn to run this path longer.

The path laid out before me.
The road not as scary as it seems.
I stumble, I fall.
With heart wide open and a life surrendered.