Hiking and Life Lessons
As I set out for Cod Pond in the southern Adirondaks, I am filled with expectation. This place is secluded and quiet.
Being an extravert, I continuously surround myself with people. Today I want to meet alone with God.
On the 1.5 hour drive up to the trail head, I listened to 1 & 2 Corinthians. I chose these books because we will do a series this fall / winter on 2 Corinthians and I want to reacquaint myself with the context of these letters. I always enjoy these long stretches of time when I can listen to books in context of each other and today was no exception. I was struck by the perils of the 1 Corinthians church and by the progress of the 2 Corinthians church. I guess all churches occasionally go through change!
I arrived at the trail head and shouldered my small backpack containing only water, a small bag of chips, my NT bible and a pen and pad. I intend for this to be a simple retreat where I can listen and hear. It is a short trek into Cod Pond, only about 1.25 miles. About 100 feet into the journey I was dismayed by the barrage of gnats that decided to join me. I stopped and dowsed myself in bug spray before continuing on. I became fairly pre-occupied by swatting the swarm around my head until a giant gardener snake just inches in front of me decided to dart across my path. I hate it when snakes do this, it always startles me. During the next half mile I nearly stepped on at least three more snakes and swatted no less than 1,000 gnats and flies. At this point in the trip I am overwhelmed between visually scrubbing the path looking for more snakes and trying to keep gnats out of my eyes and ears, I am nearly jogging to get the hike over with and arrive at my destination. Then I am struck by my first epiphany of the day. Life’s journey is similar in that along the way we will encounter irritants (gnats) and startling interruptions (snakes), but we can’t let these things consume our focus. We must keep our eyes on the goal and enjoy the journey along the way. For the second half of the hike I ignored the gnats and slowed down to take in the beauty of the trail I am walking. This proves to be truly rewarding as I pass through this hardwood forest.
