Life Lessons from Conor Pass

Conor Pass is a narrow mountain pass heading into the Dingle Peninsula in Western Ireland. As you can see, it’s a beautiful, picturesque drive.

My wife, Aime, and I spent the summer of 1997 in Ireland as part of my missions internship requirement. The summer was filled with impressive castles, cliffs, and and rolling hills covered in a velvet blanket of green. On one of the brisk mornings, we got into our small car and made the drive from Tralee, the little town we were staying, over to the Dingle Peninsula. Just another peaceful drive through the countryside. At least, that’s what I thought, until we started up the mountain heading towards Conor Pass. We were told that this drive would get a little harrowing as there are several spots where the road consolidates to a lane. What we didn’t know was that there would be several times when passing on-coming traffic that we’d need to stop while both drivers pulled the side mirrors in so they wouldn’t hit. The truth is… most of the pass is actually one-lane. Not only that, but the twists and turns were insane! We wouldn’t drive more that 100 ft. before having to make a 90 degree turn. On our left was the cliff face stretching around a hundred feet or so into the sky, and on our right was a five foot stone wall that acted as a vice, slowly squeezing the road with it’s tight grip. The whole trip only took an hour or so, but felt like an eternity, I kept thinking to myself, “there HAS to be a better way over.” I couldn’t imagine why we would need so many cutbacks and 90 degree turns just to get over this little small mountain pass. That is, until we reached the top.

The view from the top was amazing! From the very top, you can look out over miles and miles of green fields and smaller hills and valleys as it is the highest mountain pass in all of Ireland. The view from the top also allowed you to look back down the road we just traveled and offer a perspective beyond the rock faces and walls. For the very first time, I was able to see the WHY behind the twists and turns.

Rock slides and runoffs, boulders and Crags. Every time the road twisted and turned it was to avoid some great danger. Just two feet on the other side of the five foot wall was a 100 ft drop to certain death. What I quickly discovered was that the twists and turns … though very inconvenient, were necessary to get us to the top.

It was with this in mind, that I chose Conor Pass as the banner of this site to remind me/us that the journey to becoming A Man of God is filled with all kinds of unexpected twists and turns in our lives. There’s plenty of times when we can’t and won’t understand why God has chosen for us to walk the path that he does. But the reality is, He has a perspective that we do not. He has a plan and a purpose for every turn in the road… Even the ones that seem to move us completely in the opposite direction we were expecting.

He’s never NOT in the details.

At the end of that internship in 1997 I had the opportunity to speak with several of the missionaries one-on-one. I asked a seasoned missionary, Tom Murphy, if he had any advice to give a young upcoming pastor/ missionary. He then proceeded to give me the greatest piece of advice I’ve every received… even to this day.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.” - Proverbs 3:5-6

I now live my life with the full knowledge that God’s perspective looks a lot like the view from Conor pass. He knows the cliffs and the rockslide. He knows exactly what it takes to move me on my journey to becoming The Man of God He intends me to be.

I now choose to trust His path.

I choose to trust Him.