This week my son, Philip, passed the 1000 mile mark on the Appalachian Trail. I have been able to walk with him on two occasions now and have walked about 50 miles with him over four days. Three of those days I hiked consecutively with a 30 pound pack on my back. One day I was able to walk with him in southern Virginia without a pack. Needless to say – I would much rather walk 15 miles without a pack than with it.
Hikers call this ‘slack-packing’. There are ample opportunities for them to call for a shuttle to pick them up and allow them to walk certain areas without taking their pack with them. For example: they will come to a road and call a hostel/shuttle service that is about 15 or 20 miles ahead. That shuttle will pick them up and bring them to their hostel to sleep for the night. The next morning the hikers will leave their pack at the hostel and the driver will shuttle them back to the pickup area where they will be able to hike back to the hostel without the extra weight. Then, the next day, they will again hike 15 or 20 miles away from the hostel without their pack and call the shuttle to once again drive them back to the hostel and their gear. The third morning, they will have themselves and their gear shuttled back to the previous pickup area where they will begin to hike as normal – but having been able to cover an easier 30 to 40 miles without the extra weight.
As a Christian, we often carry too much “weight” with us in the form of stress, burdens, sin, anxiety, fear, etc. Our Christian journey is much more difficult that it is supposed to be because we are not leaving our burdens at the foot of the cross but are carrying our burdens with us. The journey is not any easier – just like the trail is no easier without the hikers packs – but walking it is easier without carrying the weight that God wants us to leave with Him. After all – He is our Trail-manager and He wants to walk with us and help us along. This very thought is captured in the great hymn God Leads Us Along:
In shady, green pastures, so rich and so sweet,
God leads His dear children along;
Where the water’s cool flow bathes the weary one’s feet,
God leads His dear children along.
Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright,
God leads His dear children along;
Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night,
God leads His dear children along.
Though sorrows befall us and evils oppose, God leads His dear children along;
Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes, God leads His dear children along.
Away from the mire, and away from the clay, God leads His dear children along; Away up in glory, eternity’s day, God leads His dear children along.
