Attention shifts unavoidably as wet, unsure footing demands concentration and eyes shift from horizon to path. Nearby trees disclose damp, rich brown bark, unlike the drab, tree-shaped silhouettes obscured by the foggy haze of rain on a barely discernible horizon. Colors recently faded by the dust of time are rejuvenated as raindrops bathe rocks, soil and foliage.

A crimson leaf on the forest floor grabs the eye with saturated color. A photograph takes form; cold and rain retreat from consciousness. This one clear, unanticipated detail juxtaposed against a depressing landscape transforms mood. And life continues … I remember a youthful time when the direction of life was clear with an unobstructed horizon of salvation in Christ before me. But that was years ago in the ignorance of youth before a jaded view of life became the norm. ‘Busy’ness, ambition and the pressures of society had since obscured the detail of truth, the value of his pure and faithful relationship. Smug

understanding of life experience had eroded that clear horizon of hope even as the cold rain had veiled today’s landscape and hidden the magnificence of the mountain vistas beyond. Life had become fogged by circumstance.

This one conspicuous crimson leaf now articulates the importance of paying attention to the faithful daily blessings forgotten in the cold rain of our self-sufficient life where arrogance controls thoughts and actions. In our efforts to determine destiny by our own strength, we ignore the precarious footing we create. But the leaf, discovered because of struggling through a slip on life’s treacherous path, is a reminder of the close proximity of God and our forgotten relationship; perilous footing of desperation becomes a miracle for those who call on the sovereign God of daily blessing for deliverance from imminent destruction. Only then do we abruptly realize the futility of our assumed independence.