*steep,Linda
navigates a
rocky hill below
Acebo going down into
ManjarinM\
*morning
Sheep graze in the early
fog on the French
side of the Pyrenees. n
*
Pausing during the
trek over a long, hot, and
hilly road on the Spanish
Meseta, surrounded by
beautiful fields topped with
a gorgeous blue sky!
mountains rising from a shimmering lake...just the other day we were awe-struck by a lakeside hickory reflecting in the water one afternoon...but when a person is spending hours upon hours literally interacting with the
outdoors, something wonderful happens. It can’t be explained. It can’t be quantified. It is a change in mindset
that goes well beyond ordinary appreciation to the level of communing with the Creator of all, and it must be
experienced firsthand to be fully understood.
From the beginning of this journey, at home practicing long walks with packs, we knew we wanted our
mental focus to be on our Father and His will. One way we kept this attention, even in the mountains of North
Georgia, was prayer. Each morning, after chatting about the eternal hope of an early cafe, or a particularly
spectacular moon, or whether we truly were following the correct path, conversation between us would
quiet down as we allowed ourselves time alone to talk with God. No lists of requests, no begging for clarity, but
rather something closer to “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done” these few steps, this day only. The rest of the
morning-4, 5, perhaps 6 hours-were spend with the mental focus of praying the
alphabet (which took quite a bit of time, actually), praying for witnessing opportunities, or praying for another, as we walked along various fellow pilgrims.
We came to see these conversations with God as a constant state of relationship
rather than specific times of interacting with Him, which truly changes everything in the life of a pilgrim on earth, no matter where he or she may be.
Unfortunately, we pilgrims usually allow the noise of the world
Sunrise over
to interrupt the relationship to the point that we can only manone
of
the many
age intermittent conversations, well-meaning as they might be.
*
villages passed
through each day.
27