It's been a while since my last post. Life is the greatest journey I've ever been on and I am still amazed at the amount of lessons and experiences that come from this adventure. Every time I go on a backpacking trip I come back with new perspectives and experiences that all go into making me the backpacker and outdoors man that I am. I have the chance to share the things I've learned on the trips on many occasions. People ask me about the terrain, where the good places to camp are, what trails are easy for beginners, etc... The adventure of life isn't much different. As I prepare for my trips to new places I begin to read others experiences to learn as much as possible about the trail so I can be prepared. When I get there I begin to drink in all the beauty and cool stuff there is to experience on that trail. When I finish the trail then I have a story to tell to anyone who asks. I have never been on a trip that didn't yield something cool that I can't wait to share with others. It's not that my experience is better or worse than anyone Else's its just mine and in truth becomes an important part of the person I am for I am the sum total of all that I have experienced in this life. There are other things I know about but have not yet experienced. Those things aren't part of me yet. They may be goals or things I would like to experience but I haven't so I can't claim them. Once they are mine then I can share them with confidence and authority.
I said these trips weren't much different from the journey of life so I've been pondering the parallels. All my life I grew up hearing that I needed to do something for God. That I needed to share His message with others. I spent a lot of my adult life doing just that. Sometimes I was fulfilled but most times I had an underlying anxiety that accompanied me where ever I was. As I began to think about all that I have experienced on the trails I was blown away at how much sense it made spiritually as well. I know a lot of Christians who live unfulfilled lives for Christ feeling the anxiety of being told they need to be doing more for God in this world but feeling helpless to figure out what that looks like. This is the part of the American Church that turns many off. I don't blame em... It makes me want to puke! I have come to abhor the "You need" sermons. They produce very little fruit in people's lives and last time I checked that doesn't fit with anything that Jesus said it would look like.
The parallel that rings true in my life is that if I have a lot of knowledge about backpacking but never get on the trail then there is an element missing. However, when I get on the trail and experience I have a fullness that has changed me. I never come home the same person as I left...NEVER. I have another experience. I am more full than when I left. It's the difference between talking about filling a bucket with water and getting the hose out and turning on the water. The other aspect of that bucket is that it's hard to pour an empty bucket out on someone. When I stopped trying to learn all the things I'm supposed to be doing for God and just took His hand and went with Him my empty bucket filled up fast. All that we did became mine... not someone Else's but mine. It changed me! No longer do I wonder what it would have been like to be one of His disciples and experience all that they did. I am His and I have and will continue to experience the many trails there are to walk on in this life. Some are fun and easy and others are a challenge that leave me walking with a limp. Either way... I'm experiencing the journey!
