“O be careful little feet where you go; O be careful little feet where you go; There's a Father up above; And He's looking down in love; So, be careful little feet where you go.”
Two brothers set out on an adventure. Neither one wanted to stay on the farm without ever seeing any of the world. While one was merely curious, the other was determined to make something of his life rather than grow old with hard work on a farm never to see what the world could offer him. Their steps were strong and sure … until they came to a fork in the road. There were no signs to give him a clue to their destination. For the first time in many a mile, the boys hesitated. Which way to go?
Both roads looked the same; neither could see what lay beyond the bend. While the older brother was keen to take the right path, the other brother felt the left beckoning to him.
The brothers hadn’t thought to be parted; at least not this quickly. They argued with each other, each trying to get the other to travel the path he had chosen.
At last, they realized it was no use. The older brother took the right path; the younger took the left.
The right path ended at a great city full of noise and artificial light. The older brother grew excited at all the prospects the city offered. He became lost amidst the thronging streets, neon lights and all the physical pleasures the world could offer.
Meanwhile, the younger brother who had taken the left path found it ended in front of an old church. He could hear an old hymn being sung inside. He entered and there he found Jesus. Though the paths beyond the church were often narrow and made passage difficult, the younger brother found his way easily guided by the One who had saved him.
Years later, in a rundown mission on the outskirts of a large city, a man gave hope to the homeless by giving them food, a warm place to sleep and telling them of Jesus and the sacrifice He made for each of us. One night, an older man stumbled into the shelter. He was dirty; his hair was matted and gray. He stank of the world in which he had lived for so long.
After providing him a meal and shower, they offered him a place to sleep for the night; for it was freezing out in the streets he called home.
As he settled in for sleep, a man approached him with a Bible in his hand. The homeless man thought there was something familiar about him, but couldn’t put his finger on it. The younger man didn’t treat him like a drunk or a homeless man, but treated him as a brother. The younger man was telling him about Jesus, and the homeless man listened. The world he had lived in for so long had broken him completely and he willingly gave his life to this man called Jesus. It was only then that the scales fell from his eyes. He looked into the minister’s and face and recognized him. It was his younger brother who had taken the left path, guided by God to help his older brother find the ‘right’ path once more.
“Two road diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two road diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost (1920)
“O be careful little feet where you go; O be careful little feet where you go; There's a Father up above; And He's looking down in love; So, be careful little feet where you go.”