Through Hikers
So, the other Monday morning I woke up and thought about the day in front of me. A blank canvas. Nada. An empty calendar sheet. I had a thought and said to God that I was open for business and that I would keep my eyes a bit sharper for chances to step into his story during the day, not sure if I really expected anything to happen out of the ordinary.
Not much went on until lunch with Toomey at my favorite taco joint. We noticed a scruffy guy with a healthy red beard who had ordered 2 lunches and was chowing down. At his feet rested a dusty backpack and hiking poles…all telltale signs of a through hiker.
Stephen, from northern Virginia, had indeed come off the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) to resupply in Bend and needed a place to stay for the night. We got to talking and he informed us that he was meeting up with eight more hikers, so I did the math and quickly concluded that number outmatched the Hulbert Hacienda as a hostel.
I called our church office, and true to form for our group, the trail-weary crew was welcomed in for the night. I drove Stephen over and introduced him to the staff, got him a key, then gave him the Bend nickel tour: you know…westside, eastside, Pilot Butte and the Old Mill area. The others wouldn’t be in town until evening so we hung out awhile and heard his story and he mine. Later, I checked in with him and learned the others arrived safely and were bedded down in the fellowship hall.
The group ended up spending a second night with us in Bend, then on Wednesday morning I loaded up seven of them (two others jumped forward on the bus) and drove them up north of Redmond to hitch to Government Camp. PCT Trail Days was coming up and they wanted to get to Cascade Locks for that party, then some wanted to hitch back and continue the trek from Elk Lake, so I hoped to see them again.
We had short but rich conversations, and I was able to explain a bit of faith to a group of young adults who surprisingly knew very little about it beyond the caricatures they had heard. This group met up at different points on the trail from Mexico to Canada and hailed from Ireland, NC, NY, Venezuela, CA, FL, Belgium, and Slovenia. Dang fun, and the story isn’t over.
The point for me is, my Monday had nothing on the agenda beyond some quiet time and a workout at the Geezer Center. All I did was say I was open for business and would keep my eyes open for chances to join in with what God was already doing, whether my part was a lot or not so much.
Then Stephen showed up at Luci’s Tacos.
Joining Jesus in what he is doing is often spiritualized beyond reach, only for the super-believers, when in reality it is embedded into everyday life right in front of us. When I’m willing to be inconvenienced, made a bit uncomfortable, detoured from my agenda, I often find worthwhile ministry smack dab in the path I’m walking. Moving through my day alert and aware sets me up to mini-adventures like I had with the PCT hikers.
Maybe, that’s a bit of what Peter was getting at as he writes his first letter. His audience were folks who were under pressure and facing opposition, but some of the truths wash over to all of life. Take a listen.
If with heart and soul you’re doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you’re still better off….Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy.
Try this on for size: Say out loud, “Lord, today I’m open for business.” Then keep your eyes open for the next off-ramp and into someone’s life. Sometimes it looks like pure service, other times words of comfort or just listening is just right. You don’t need to leave a gospel tract or give your whole testimony, but be ready! You just might be asked to tell someone why you’re living the way you are.
The next part is simple, when it’s your turn, tell your story. Don’t feel compelled to explain or defend the whole of your belief system (or what they might assume you believe), but honestly, to describe your spiritual journey is plenty. Then, let them ask what they want from what you have said. Simple.
Martin Luther once said,
“We are all mere beggars showing other beggars where to find bread.”
The pastor and author Steve Brown picks up on Luther’s idea and adds,
“I am just a beggar telling others where I found bread…and this beggar is still sometimes hungry but I, at least, knows where the bread is.”
You and I, as Jesus followers and his apprentices, really are part of a grand adventure made up of countless small encounters scattered along our way. We aren’t meant to address every every need or join every cause, not at all. But when you sense the Spirit nudge you, or you notice the dusty guy in the taco shop, say the words then that you will wish later you would have said and see where it goes.
The best part of these moments is that they are available to anyone; no special training or title is needed. Any person in their job or school, at the gym or store, on the trail or in the ER, these are the spots when the Spirit looks for “laborers for the harvest,” and it is a great harvest!
And…hang the “Open for Business” sign on your life. A group like this just might show up. (This was last Thursday dropping them off back at Elk Lake and onto the trail.)
Mzk? Sure, why not? Dang good ones this week.
Just another morning with the Alfred Street Baptist Church…(the sign language guy is something else)
How about a lame joke or two?
A tour guide was showing a tourist around Washington, D.C. The guide pointed out the place where George Washington supposedly threw a dollar across the Potomac River.
"That's impossible," said the tourist. "No one could throw a coin that far!"
"You have to remember," answered the guide. "A dollar went a lot farther in those days."
__________
A few years ago I rode my scooter in to a gas station and dismounted.
"I'll need about a pint of gas," I said to the attendant, "and a few ounces of oil for the motor."
"Certainly, sir," the attendant said, "And would you also like me to cough into your tires?"