Take a Walk

And God said, "Take a walk!"

I had been wanting to hear that for a long time. So I asked God, "Can it be a long walk?"

God answered, "Of course."

So, of course, I assumed God meant the Long Trail. It's a long walk, the length of Vermont, and one I've wanted to do for quite some time. So I put that backpacking trip into my sabbatical plans, and added some other fun, educational kind of stuff . . . and sent the plans off to be considered for a grant to help fund all that other fun, educational kind of stuff.

I didn't get the grant.

And God said, "Take a walk anyway!"
And I said, "Can it be a long walk?"
And God replied, "Of course. In fact, take two long walks."

Now, this puzzled me quite a bit. Spending one month walking 272 miles seemed like a long enough walk to me. But God wasn't going to let me off with just that.

And God explained, "You want to walk Vermont? Sure . . . go right ahead. But first, walk New Hampshire."

And I knew, almost immediately, that this walk wasn't about trails and trees and mountaintops and my own physical challenges. This walk would be about faith, and communities, and people. It would be about getting outside of the walls of institution, and listening to both the faith, and the hunger for faith, of those who won't or can't come through the doors of our churches.

And God then assured me that there would be plenty for us to talk to each other about when I took to the Long Trail. I suspect I'll need every one of those long miles to listen.