Little yellow triangles

14 October 2020

Little yellow triangles: Following the right markers on the trek of life

words Belinda Davis

Recently, in accordance with COVID-19 restrictions, my husband and I decided to go bushwalking in the Grampians National Park of Victoria. We chose the two-kilometre route from the village of Halls Gap to the Pinnacle Lookout, estimated to be a 40-minute walk.

My first clue that this wasn’t just going to be a wander in beautiful bush surroundings was the fact that the walk was called a ‘hike’, with a ‘medium difficulty’ rating. We decided that we were reasonably fit and relatively ‘young-ish’, so why not give it a go?

Not long into our adventure I discovered that my eight-year-old runners, with almost no tread left, were not the best choice of footwear. The path was both sandy and rocky, but there were also many large, smooth rocks, and I struggled to clamber over them in my runners, which offered no grip.

At the start of the hike, I also noticed these little yellow triangles that seemed to be pointing in the direction we were to go. I thought they were quirky, and I didn’t appreciate just how valuable these markers would become. As we got further along the path, it became evident that sometimes the direction we were to take was obvious, and other times it looked like we had reached a dead-end, only to discover a little yellow triangle pointing us on.

We had been ‘hiking’ for 25 minutes and I was already feeling quite spent after a particularly taxing section when we came to a flatter path. As we rounded a corner, I figured we must be coming close to the end of our journey because I could see the Pinnacle summit ahead. The only problem was, it appeared to be at the top of a completely different mountain, and a ridiculous distance away. Not only that, this path was heading down, not up. Just ahead of us, though, pointing us onward, was another little yellow triangle and then a sign saying we were only 600m away from our destination.

We continued to pick our way up these last few hundred metres. At one point I found myself in tears, feeling quite anxious about how I was going to make my way back down the steep and difficult rocky path.

On top of that, we seemed to have lost sight of the yellow triangles. This was the closest I came to giving up, but as we rounded the corner, we discovered that we had somehow deviated from the path. We soon found the intended path, which appeared to be far less taxing and dangerous. The sense of relief was palpable.

As we rejoined the triangled path, I pondered the reality of endeavouring to follow a direction in life and how important it can be to keep an eye out for the markers that keep us on track to our greatest success.

For me, the equivalent to those little yellow triangles in my life is the Word of God. The Bible gives me instructions for living my best life, whether it is about my relationships with friends or others, or building my character and becoming more like the example Jesus set. When I deviate from the life lessons contained therein, my path is way more difficult than it needs to be.

A verse from Psalm 119 tells me that God’s Word “is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path”. Or, in the Belinda Davis translation, “is a little yellow triangle that points my way”.

We made it to the Pinnacle Lookout and the view was well worth the effort. On the way back down, we followed every yellow triangle and arrived back safely.

Greater than even the view was the reminder to hold tight to the guides in my life in the form of the Word of God. I would like to encourage you to check it out for yourself as you also trek through life.

Major Belinda Davis is a Salvation Army officer (pastor) in regional Victoria.