Lessons from the PCT
The other day while driving home and passing through Sisters, I picked up three hitchhikers heading East. Two women and a man looking quite dusty and worn, and at their feet squatted trail-weary backpacks. My guess was proved correct that the trio were PCT through-hikers taking a detour to Bend. They tossed gear in the bed of the pickup and piled into the cab, relieved. They needed a ride (and a shower!) and I got the gift of looking into a window on a world I know little of.
For the uninitiated, the Pacific Crest Trail is 2,650 miles long and stretches from Mexico to Canada. Because of snow in the Sierras and Cascades, the preferred route is South to North and it normally takes 4 to 5 months to complete the whole thing. Hundreds start, while others do sections, and more than you might guess finish the total route. Tradition dictates that hikers take on trail names, and in this case the couple from the Netherlands called themselves “Laces” and “Hoopah”, while the woman from Ireland went by “Eyeroll”. They had only recently met up and travelled together for a few days but now were pushed off the trail because of closures due to damage from the Lion's Head fire north of Santiam Pass.
I called Claudia, and she said, "Sure! Bring them home." So we fed them lunch, visited for a couple of hours, then deposited them at REI for much-needed resupply of food, shoes, and clothes. On the way to town, I peppered them with questions about life on the trail. They talked of steep climbs and bugs and blisters and weather, but also mentioned that there is always something around that can help them along, whether it is water or shelter or a food source.
Before we got back to the house, I asked them what lessons they had learned on the trail, and the answers came like popping corn. Here are a few I recall.
Hard days are part of the adventure, expect them
No matter how tired in the evening or sore in the morning, get up and go for one more day
Be ready to be amazed at the views but you have to look up from the trail
It is fun to sense getting stronger as you hike
Always have the finish line in your mind
As I listened, parallels jumped to mind for us as Jesus followers and our faith journey. Look back over that list of lessons they mentioned and tilt your brain about 30° to the right and you can see it, too.
Hard days are part of the adventure sounds like Peter telling new Christians under pressure, "Don't be surprised at the fiery trial...as though something strange was happening to you." Hard days can be expected, but we have a friend who is closer than a brother in Jesus, so we lean into them with expectancy. We are never alone.
...get up and go for one more day is echoed throughout scripture as believers encourage one another to "not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Tenacity. Grit. Perseverance. One. More. Day.
Be ready to be amazed... In Bunyon's Pilgrim's Progress the Muckrakers saw only the mess in front of them and missed the beauty all around. Look up many times a day to see God's beauty in the smile of a child, or in the depth of a clear lake, or moving clouds forming castles in the sky. Learn to respond with thankful praise when you see God in the midst of ordinary life. Look up!
It is fun to get stronger stands as the gift of faithful following. Look forward to the time when stuff that used to trip you up like a boulder in the trail now is only a small obstacle you cross with ease. As we go, the Spirit uses all of life to build in us strength to face all of life. To give perspective, take some time to look back to see your growth and use it to tackle the next challenge.
Always have the finish line in mind reminds me that our true home will be a new heaven and earth where all is made right. We don't earn heaven, Jesus has done that and will welcome us there when our time comes.
Standing with Laces, Hoopah, and Eyeroll on the sidewalk in the Old Mill, after hugs and thanks, they took a moment and looked around at the sights and sounds of the circus that is Bend in the summer. Eyeroll said something like, "Sure am glad we got pushed off the trail so we could see Bend!" Another lesson for me: Interruptions to my plans uncover new opportunities, so long as I have eyes to see them.
So there you go. Some good stuff from two Dutchies and an Irish girl. Before you click off this note, look back over their lessons and see if any might be applied to your life this morning. I know I have. Let's go!
Time for music for the week
It's time for bad joke of the week!
On a slow day with few customers, a clerk at a Western Union office looks down from her counter and sees a dog waiting in line.
"Oh, aren't you cute?" she says. "What would you like me to put on your
telegram?"
"Bow wow wow, bow wow wow," the dog replies.
The clerk says in a cutesy voice, "But you can add another 'Bow wow wow' for the same price."
The dog responds, "Now wouldn't that sound a little silly?"
______________
A man walked into a restaurant in a strange town.
The waiter came and asked him for his order. Feeling lonely, he replied, "Meat loaf and a kind word."
When the waiter returned with the meat loaf, the man said, "Where's the kind word?"
The waiter put down the meat loaf and sighed, bent down, and whispered, "Don't eat the meat loaf."