Patience and Persistence Today, Monday, April 14, 2014, finds Shortstop back on the AT in Virginia moving steadily northward. He attended church yesterday on Palm Sunday in Damascus, VA, and began walking again sometime around noon. There was what we used to call in the military, an “operational pause” in his effort to walk to Maine as he was off the trail for a few days to receive treatment and therapy for recurring back and leg pain. Sometimes the head, the heart, and the spirit have to listen to the rest of the body. But that is behind him now and he is carrying on with his mission. Few are able to successfully walk the AT without prior planning and a considerable amount of assistance from others. Shortstop is a meticulous planner and, of course, he has received help from many, this time including medical personnel and therapists. He planned the entire walk to average about 14 miles per day and to arrive in Maine in early September before Baxter State Park closes for the winter and Mt. Katahdin becomes unsafe for hikers. In order to keep to his schedule, he skipped ahead for about 200 miles in order to re-connect with many of the northbound hikers he met earlier and to allow himself to arrive in Maine on time. He now plans to return to southwest Virginia and northeastern Tennessee in the fall and complete the remaining miles after he summits Mt. Katahdin. This is an excellent plan that will put him on his “home court” part of the trail that he has hiked many times in autumn, the most beautiful season of the year. It seems that Proverbs 16:9 applies to the current status of Shortstop’s hike, “The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps.” Our prayer is that Shortstop will continue to plan his way and also to be open to the Lord’s direction as he moves forward to reflect the presence of Christ on the trail. AT Chaplain’s Scribe
Posted on: Mon, 14 Apr 2014 14:56:57 +0000
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