This past week I walked a path with an elderly brother of the Kwabeng branch to his small Cocoa farm. It was lush and the trees where old and full of Cocoa pods. I was taught how to harvest the cocoa bean and prepare the beans for market. All Cocoa is sold to the government and then exported for refinement for the wonderful chocolate we all love. This man is just one of many generations who have worked this farm and harvested of their labor. As I was following him on this well beaten path, I marveled at the number of humble feet who have walked this way to the rich life-giving earth they have tilled for generations. I asked my friend “how long have people used this path to reach their farms?” As we walked in silence for a short distance, he stopped and turned around and took me by the hand and said “my family has walked this exact path to our farm for over 1000 years”. We stood for that split second as his words sank in. We began again to walk the path as generations have before. For the next 20 minutes, as I followed this brother carrying a bunch of Plantain on his head and I carrying a bunch of Plantain on my back, not much was said. I saw in my mind’s eye a long line of Africans walking this path along my side. They were all carrying vegetables, fruits, cassava, plantain, and firewood on their heads. I saw children following behind also carrying food stuffs on their little heads. I love the scene as it unfolded and revealed to me the truthfulness of this humble brother who was leading Sister Dalton and me. What a lesson of tradition, honor, and humility was granted me that day.
What paths of life are we walking that have been walked by others for 1000 years? I can think of one in my own life that I believe will qualify. I have a heritage of ancestors who have always feared and loved God. Many during the middle ages fought for the right to praise God. I know that has been a contributing factor for my sound trust in God. They were hard workers who carved out an earthly living tilling the ground. They loved the earth and the bounteous goodness of the grace of God. As a young boy, not a member of the Church, we said “grace” over our food. Why, because it was a path my parents had walked with their parents and so on down the generations of time. Do our minds ponder these glimpses that we all have on the path we walk?
“…come follow me..” the Savior said as he beckoned those that looked upon a simple man. Some of our traveled paths are worn with humble feet that feel the beckoning words of the Shepard. Some path travelers carry their little ones on their back wrapped tightly with care. Other followers of the path are carrying the nourishing food for the strength to till the earth; and a few still follow because of family tradition, but without heart. One thousand years to follow a path that is not dear to one’s heart is a drudgery to say the least, yet sometimes we find ourselves exactly there for no reason. I testify as we have lived here in the bush region of Ghana, we have witnessed those paths tread by many who have come to the words of the Good Shepard; they even are carrying their brother on their shoulders and are an example of Godly love for all sons and daughters of Heavenly Father. I pray your 1000 year old path will be as enlighten by the love of God as I walked a 1000 year old footpath to a small Cocoa farm in Kwabeng, Africa this past week.
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