Bread Crumbs

by Connie Lakey Martin

     Why bread crumbs?  Not real sure. But while wondering what to write about, bread crumbs popped in my head.  I’ve learned not to ignore, but to explore, crazy thoughts like this, thinking perhaps they come from a Higher Power. But Bread Crumbs?  Really?  Help.   Jack London, an icon of American fiction, said, “You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club!”
     When I hear “bread crumbs” I think of Hansel and Gretel.  Hansel dropped bread crumbs to find their way back home after their wicked stepmother sent them deep into the forest because she didn’t want them.
     I’ve had to drop bread crumbs many times in my life.  I’m pretty good at getting off the beaten path, taking the road less traveled.  But I always want to find my way back home so I’m careful to carry crumbs in my pocket.  Especially when the path leads deep into the forest of fear and doubt, the unfamiliar, uncharted, lonesome path. You’ve been there, right?  You’ll make it back just fine, if you keep your eyes on the crumbs.  
     Thankfully, there are thoughtful people who care enough to drop crumbs along their way for you to follow forward.  Because sometimes there’s no going back.  People who have been where you are headed.  This is a good thing, because there’s lots of wild animals in the forest of friends who will eat up your crumbs if they have a chance.   When that happens, believe me it will, you must follow forward.  Unless, of course, you know the way back home by heart. 
     Sometimes you want to make sure someone is able to find you, so you drop crumbs, hoping they will catch up to you one day.
     Crumbs.  Bits and pieces of memorized instructions from Mom and Dad, relatives, teachers, preachers, heroes, sung and unsung.  Good times, bad times, people and places that led you where you are today or where you’d like to be.
     In the forest of life, first you get the test, then you get the lesson. 
     Follow your own path, but pack your pockets full of crumbs. 
                   Keep heart,
                   Connie