Walk Through the Woods
Alyssa Ober
August 31, 2004

As I walked through the woods, I was with my mom because I enjoy having others around me. The fact that I chose a companion to go along with me shows that I have a social side and enjoy being with people. My mom is my best friend, so I can talk to her about anything and everything. I love to be around people who make me feel carefree and dont make me worry about being stupid. I do like having times of solitude and being able to sit and think in silence, but normally I enjoy having others around me to talk and laugh with. Laughing is an essential part of my everyday life, and it is more fun to laugh with other people than by yourself.! Having friends is one of the best things about life and I dont know what I would do without them. It even says in the Bible in the book of Ecclesiastes that two people are better than one because if one falls the other can help him back up. But if you are alone, you could be in big trouble if you fell and hurt yourself. That is why I chose not to take the journey alone, but to take a companion along with me.
While we were walking, my mom and I came upon a river that had a trail of rocks crossing over the water. Some of the rocks were flat and brightly colored while others were dark and had jutted edges. The rocks relate to the problems in my life, because every problem that I deal with is different. I have small problems which have little significance to my life and I have big ones which could change the way I live if I make the wrong decision. Some problems, like the flat rocks, have easy solutions and are not hard to overcome. Other problems, like! the jutted-edged rocks, have difficult decisions to figure out before a good solution can be reached. As my mom and I crossed the river, this signified how I can conquer my problems. Some of the rocks were dark which signifies trial and hardships, while some of the rocks were brightly colored which shows happiness and easiness. Although some of the rocks were very unstable and wobbled as we crossed over them, we made it safely to the other side. This shows that I can deal with the problems that arise in my life if I just continue to face up to them. And just as I continue to see rivers all around the state of Iowa and the United States, I continue to be faced with problems each and every day. I learn to deal with them though, and come up with a great answer or solution.
Continuing down the path, we saw a fork in the trail and had to choose one of the trails ahead of us. One led up a number of stairs while the other was a muddy, gravel path. We chose the stairs because we were ready for a great challenge. We began the long trudge up each and every step and I was soon out of breath. This symbolizes my spiritual journey because it is a tough journey. At each step I attempted to climb, sin and the devil tried to pull me back down, but at each step after asking for forgiveness God helped me up to the next step. The steps were very uneven and hard to climb, but we managed to keep heading upward. The devil continued to try to bring me back down to the bottom by making me slip, but I overcame everything with the help of God. There was an old rusty rail on the side of the trail which was very reassuring, because it made me feel like even if I did happen to stumble, I would not go falling down the cliff. Once we reached the top of the stairs we couldnt believe our eyes. As the two of us looked out at the magnificent sight before us, we were speechless. The beauty of the mountains with the snow on the very top was amazing and took my breath away. The trees were covered with leaves! of every color and there was birds sitting on many of the branches si nging melodious songs. This is what I imagine heaven to be like someday. I believe it will be a place of absolute beauty and fun. The sun will never stop shining, the birds will never stop singing, and the flowers will never stop blooming.