My walk with God

I am a bit hesitant to even state this new hunger in my heart. It may be I fear I will lose interest or just plan out fail. But as you will see that is the anxiety of all who begin larger than life adventures. So here it goes, I have a journal that I have been writing just for myself and now I am willing to take a chance and be a bit more public. OK that is assuming anyone will ever read this. So it is very personal and sincere. It is not as if I have all my biblical facts correct it is just what I think as this journey goes on. So here it is.

Appalachian Trail Walk

Where to begin, as I walked by my tread mill, it just came to me. Sounds pretty crazy, doesn’t it. Oh well just one mile can’t hurt.

Date	Distance	Speed
Aug 15, 2012	1 mi	2.5 Tread Mill
Aug 16, 2012	2 mi.	2.9 Tread Mill
	Total mi. 3

3 mi, At this point some would think I’m crazy. Time will tell. If my fascination with Paul Stutzmans and his Appalachian Trail hike is strong enough to compel me on my own thru hike, can I do it?

He walked 2176 mi. I have day dreamed about this for some time. Could I have ever done this? Well of course not? Think about it, a woman and with no one who would go with me. My husband would never allow it and I’m over weight and 65 years old. So that’s that, right, not so fast. I have never given up something that easily. So back to my walk by my tread-mill and a light went off in my head. Crazy, walk 2176 mi on a tread mill. No!!!!! Well why not, so without any fan fair I got on this machine and walked 1 mile. (Don’t you wonder what Paul thought after his 1^st mile). Now only 2175 to go ha, ha, ha.

 

 

Day 2: 2mi. and 2173 to go. Even to me this seems ridiculous. So what would it take to make this more relevant?

1.    I want this to be a secret till I have walked 50 or 100 miles. I hope this would look more like I am serious to Bill at least. (That did not happen I told him the second week and actually that was a good thing).

2.    At some time I want this to be done outside part of the time.

3.    Do a few real Day hikes outside.

4.    A real rain and Snow day hike.

5.    A 2 Day hike backspack and all. Well we will see for this will take much more time than my friend Paul. There would have to be a lot of things to happen for a real overnight backpack trip to happen even if for only one or two days.

But my 1^st and 2nd real Goal which may change as time goes on.

·      To somehow daily add some distance, but rest on Sunday. If I were really on the trail I would get really frustrated just sitting around so I will have to have some plans for my 0 days.

·      To set smaller goals, like weekly or monthly.

But why even feel the need to do this. When reading Paul Stutzmans book “Hiking Through” his was more than a goal to complete the 2176. It was a hunger to have a deeper walk with God, to hear his voice. So why and what do I want.

·      To clean Gods Temple (my body)

·      To see some nature

·      To feel closeness I have never felt with God and yes I know it is possible to hear Gods voice.

·      Lastly  is to have a sense of satisfaction of completing goals and winning over what others would say is impossible. 

Aug 17 
Distance 3 1/2 Miles
Total 5 1/2 Miles
Goal for Now  100

Funny the 2 miles seemed easier so much so I decided since it was a Friday night I would add a ½ mile. I talked a lot to God about what he would like me to do on these walks and also that he would speak to Bills soul. It was almost a continuous prayer and before long I had walked the 2 ½ miles. I also was thinking why this was a little harder than if you were really on the trail. It’s  the distractions or just laziness. When on a trail you would feel a much stronger sense of urgency to get moving or one would never get to the end or to a place to sleep for the night. I’m sitting here in my chair perfectly comfortable and I want to get up and walk 2 or 3 miles, really. So this is got to be a real commitment to me.

Also it accrued to me you would give up much of the busyness of the world. So how could I make this more real? I have decided for a time to cut out watching as much TV. Now to say give it up totally seems a bit radical right now but I deleted most of my reality shows and we will see where this goes. I also think I will get away from technical stuff, like computer, cell phone and such. Now again totally is just unreal. But I will cut some of my e-mails down. What will this mean? At least it will give me the feeling of leaving some of the world behind. We will just see. My biggest goal right now is to get to 100 miles. Can I do it, what will be my next goal? I think after 100 mi I will explain this to Bill and start doing more outside walking. If he sees I’m serious he may be more understanding. At some point he may even become helpful.

If I was really on this hike I would keep a journal, so I believe I will start   it and we will see. It could also be fun to see where I would really be on the trail as I go alone.

 

 May it have God’s Blessing.