A Road Less Travelled

I think I found my new theme song. I’ve always wanted my own theme song, and while I’ve used, say, Ride of the Valkyrie as a temporary theme song on occasion, I’ve never found one that really fits. This one doesn’t cover all the bases either, but it seems to suit this stage of my life. (Unfortunately it’s a country music song so Gabrielle can’t share my excitement at this discovery, even though it shares it’s name with our blog.)

Here it is, with some of my musings interspersed:

There’s a road a winding road that never ends
Full of curves lessons learned at every bend
Goin’s rough unlike the straight and narrow

This is the only line that doesn’t fit exactly. My association is that the straight and narrow is the road less traveled, but I don’t think that’s the point he’s trying to make. Life goes unexpected places when you’re not following The Plan. Sometimes those unexpected variations are obvious from the outside, and sometimes they’re simply the very painful, necessary lessons that get dropped in your lap when you’re not expecting them.

It’s for those who go against the grain
Have no fear dare to dream of a change live to march to the beat of a
different drummer
And it all might come together
And it all might unraveled
On the road less traveled

I still haven’t figured out why this resonates so much: “It all might come unraveled”. Perhaps it’s just the uncertainty that comes from leaving behind The Plan. What am I supposed to be doing with my life right now? How is this supposed to work exactly? Am I ever really going to get married? Even when I’ve managed to delve out the answers, it doesn’t feel quite as ’safe’ as simply following society’s expectations on the path that thousands of people have already worn smooth.

For the road less traveled ain’t for the faint of heart
For those who choose to play it safe and never stray too far
Me I want to live my life and one day leave my mark

How much is pride I don’t know, but I do know that’s part of what I want: to leave my mark. To say, “Look, there is a trail here. I might not have a slick guidebook like you can get for the main highway, but I can show you my notes and maybe you’ll get some ideas.”

And it all might come together
And it all come unraveled
On the road less traveled

And maybe my life won’t go the ‘right’ way. Maybe I never will get married, and maybe no one will ever look at my life and see anything worth doing. Maybe the weeds will grow up behind me and no one will ever see my path at all. But this is where I am, and I believe I’m doing something worth doing, even if it doesn’t come out the way I thought it was supposed to.

I’ve chosen a pathway I may not endure
One thing’s for certain nothing for sure
And it all might come together
And it all might come unraveled
On the road less traveled

There’s one more difference I didn’t notice in listening to song. I’ve chosen a pathway that I will endure, because the guiding principle is this, that I will follow my King wherever he leads me. So even if I hit a detour, or the road trails off, or horror of horrors, meets up with a major highway, I will keep going because He’s not going to leave me behind.

For the road less traveled ain’t for the faint of heart
For those who choose to play it safe and never stray too far
Me I want to live my life and one day leave my mark
And it all might come together
And it all come unraveled
On the road less traveled

So I keep going. I don’t know for sure where my path is leading. But by God’s grace I will follow it no matter how much it hurts, or how dumb I look along the way, or how often I just plain fail. And in the end, the path leads to heaven, but if the path means following my King and living for Him, it doesn’t really end there either…

There’s a road winding road that never ends

–The Road Less Traveled by George Strait