Date: 2009-02-24
To: How 2009 became The Year
Miles today: 0.0

So thru-hiking is something I've wanted to do for a while. I started a savings account last February that was dubbed, "My hiking fund." I had no idea that I'd be using that money so soon! So here's how it came about:Back in August/September we went to church (more on that in a minute). The preacher was talking about John the Baptist, and how he wandered in the desert wearing crazy clothing and eating grasshoppers. As I pictured it (I was blessed with a totally badass imagination, I'm tellin you), I thought "wow, that sounds a lot like thru-hiking!" I might have missed a main portion of the sermon, but it got my mind rolling. After church, James, Grey and I went to eat pizza (God's most holy food, definitely) and I said, "So, I thought hit me when the preacher was talking about John the Baptist. Now, I'm not saying God told me to do this, but I was inspired in church so draw your own conclusions. What do you think about me thru-hiking in 2009?" James had no objection (he's really 110% awesome), so I started planning. And here I am, 2.5 weeks away from the start date!Now, onto the church thing. I grew up in the South, a fact that I'm proud of. But I did grow up in the Bible belt, and not belonging to a family who were churchgoers I didn't have much exposure to going to church as a kid. When I got a little older, some friends from school occassionally invited me along. I went to several churches. Some of them were nice, but the majority of them were led by pastors/preachers/what-have-yous who stood in front of the congregation and talked about going to hell and hating this or that group. That kinda thought didn't sit with me well. I don't think you should believe in something just because you don't want to go to hell, and I don't think Jesus is happy that His pastors are preaching hate.I am a Christian, and I'm aware that being one has, and always will, carry a certain stigma with it and that's just fine and dandy with me. I am more than willing to talk about my faith with others, but will not press it on folks who aren't interested in discussing it. As hard as it is, I try to remember that I should love my neighbors (whether they really live next to me or not). And I definitely have love for the gay and lesbian community (I mean, seriously, I have every season of Will&Grace on DVD). As much as I wish women didn't find themselves in situations where they believe they need to, I don't judge women who have abortions. Humans weren't put on this earth to judge one another. Those two issues are definitely political hot-potatoes these days. But, regardless of what politicans might have you believe, there's a lot more to Christianity than lifestyles and choices. Being very far from a Biblical scholar, I can't quote verses very well and am still trying to figure out who is who's mother, brother, sister, father, cousin, etc etc. But what I get as the jist of the New Testament is this verse from Romans: "15:7 Accept each other, as Christ accepted us, for the glory of God." Taking one verse from the Bible and using it as a blanket statement for how to or how not to live your life can and often does portray Christians in the wrong light (often to our detriment), but that's a good summary of how I read the Bible.I'm not looking to start a debate on Christianity, abortion, gays and lesbians, etc so if you disagree with what I've said, that's fine and dandy. However, this isn't the realm for debate.