Date: 2005-02-03
To: The Spiritual Aspect of Hiking
Miles today: 0.0

Continuing the thought of, ¢Why would we want to give up so many things we love just to go in the woods and walk?¢ Last, but not at all least¢¦   As Christians, we love Jesus Christ and are able to experience Him in different ways while hiking. God¢s creation is a beautiful work of art! Often our busy lives only allow us to see His handiwork as if through a picture in a magazine; we acknowledge that it exists, wish that we could take the time to discover more about it, but eventually we turn the page and move on to the next thing in life. Thru-hiking forces us to slow down and experience creation at 2-3 miles per hour. Our experience has been, as we force ourselves to slow down (especially in the outdoors), we begin to see Christ more in the world around us.   We also believe that the simplicity of hiking is a way that God would choose for us to live. We are drawn to a lifestyle that encourages us to leave our ¢wants¢ behind and forces us to embrace a redefined category of our ¢needs¢.   In my days as a youth director for a local church, I was often struggling to know what my message should be for an upcoming meeting. Often, while experiencing these blocks in creativity, I would go for a hike (even if it seemed like I didn¢t have the time to do so). The outdoors, it seems, is a place where God likes to speak to His people. Rarely, if ever, would I return without the whole event planned and my message all figured out. We need to have those moments of solitude to hear God¢s voice.   On a previous hike, I went 5 months with only going to the theatre once (a PG-13 Star Wars movie). When I¢d arrive in town, I was more interested in Headline News than sitcoms or even ESPN (which may be a shock to some who know me well). I didn¢t want to carry books or magazines and even once I had a radio with me, I was able to get reception for so few stations that I hardly listened to it. When I returned from the Trail, I fell back into old routines. I watched TV, I listened to more music, and I started going to the movies again. I noticed in a very short time that the Trail had re-sensitized me, violence was hard to watch, and foul language was hard for me to hear. As funny as it may sound, even the clothes that people wore were a shock to me. If we allow it to, the Trail can re-establish a sense of innocence that I believe Jesus would prefer for us to have. We don¢t need to be ignorant of the world around us, just more discerning in our media intake. The Apostle Paul says it best¢¦ ¢Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God¢s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will.¢ -Romans 12:2   Lastly, we sense a strong spirituality in the people we meet along the Trail. Hikers are typically seeking something. Let¢s face it, we don¢t quit our jobs, close up our houses, or put everything in our parents'basement and go hike, because we have life all figured out. A thru-hike is more of a spiritual journey than a physical journey. Marie and I feel called to be part of a community that is in the midst of that exciting search. While we see that many hikers consider the journey itself to be the end goal, we feel there is a more abundant life to be found through Jesus Christ. We know that we don¢t have all the answers and we hope to learn from those around us. Likewise, as others add to our understanding of God we hope to play a role in the journeys of the hikers we meet and pray that we will be able to contribute to their understanding of the Almighty.   In short, through witnessing God¢s creation, living lives of simplicity, experiencing extended periods of solitude, refocusing our minds from the media and other things of a material world to things of Christ, and by taking part in the exciting and diverse spiritual journeys that we¢re all on, we hope to worship Christ!