June 12, 2013
This is a great little town. It is built around the hiking and bike riding culture, and full of visitors like me every day. Unlike most places in America, there are no chain stores or fast food establishments. (There is a small Dollar General, but no McDonalds!) Outfitters, B&B's, eateries, drug store; all are home grown and family owned. Its strange to be in a place with more bicycle shops than gas stations!
The day has been filled with all the normal requirements of a resupply day. I have nursed my feet and seen some improvement. My gear has been hung out, turned, and dried. My shoes spent the day in what sun I could find, with the inserts pulled and laces open wide. All I can say is they are better than yesterday!
Some have asked what I think about and do while I am alone all day. Simply put, I walk. It often takes a great deal of my concentration, physical effort, and breath. There are times I sing. More than once I have come around a turn in full voice to find a group of hikers staring at me. Andy Frazier made up a song sheet for me that I often refer to. Most of the time, unfortunately, I just fill in my own words when I don't remember the real ones.
I do remember friends each day. I pray for people I have met and others I have left behind. I pray for and remember each day my special friends with disabilities. There are times that I also get silly and let my mind go in crazy directions. One day I held a long debate with myself about whether flies ever got lonely and did they miss home when traveling.
One of my growing passions is to see something special come out of this hike for the disabled and special people of this world. That also includes the millions of parents and families who love and care for them. A few days ago I walked on 6 tenths of a mile on the AT that has been made Handicap Accessible. It was beautiful. Built just a few years ago, a spot had been chosen near a state paved road. The trail was widened and covered in cinders for wheelchairs and graded for an easy push. It lead out onto an open bald meadow with a panoramic view of the mountains all around. I was choked with tears. Here was a community who cared enough to make sure that everyone who wanted could experience the beauty of the trail. (The two pictures are just part of the view from that section.)
I thought again of our churches, which have a mandate to share the good news with the world and yet continue to turn a blind eye to that entire segment of society that are "different." Instead, the church is called to reach out to "the least of these" with a special effort. By not doing so, we hold back hope to this unreached group and the families around them.
How many handicap people in wheelchairs actually have used that section of the trail? I don't know. The point is that they now can, because somebody cared. How many people with disabilities or families raising special need children are in your area of influence? You will never know unless you build a trail that allows them access into your world and life.
This summer I'm out Blazing New Trails to make us more aware of others who would love to see some of the glory we take for granted.
This is a great little town. It is built around the hiking and bike riding culture, and full of visitors like me every day. Unlike most places in America, there are no chain stores or fast food establishments. (There is a small Dollar General, but no McDonalds!) Outfitters, B&B's, eateries, drug store; all are home grown and family owned. Its strange to be in a place with more bicycle shops than gas stations!
The day has been filled with all the normal requirements of a resupply day. I have nursed my feet and seen some improvement. My gear has been hung out, turned, and dried. My shoes spent the day in what sun I could find, with the inserts pulled and laces open wide. All I can say is they are better than yesterday!
Some have asked what I think about and do while I am alone all day. Simply put, I walk. It often takes a great deal of my concentration, physical effort, and breath. There are times I sing. More than once I have come around a turn in full voice to find a group of hikers staring at me. Andy Frazier made up a song sheet for me that I often refer to. Most of the time, unfortunately, I just fill in my own words when I don't remember the real ones.
I do remember friends each day. I pray for people I have met and others I have left behind. I pray for and remember each day my special friends with disabilities. There are times that I also get silly and let my mind go in crazy directions. One day I held a long debate with myself about whether flies ever got lonely and did they miss home when traveling.
One of my growing passions is to see something special come out of this hike for the disabled and special people of this world. That also includes the millions of parents and families who love and care for them. A few days ago I walked on 6 tenths of a mile on the AT that has been made Handicap Accessible. It was beautiful. Built just a few years ago, a spot had been chosen near a state paved road. The trail was widened and covered in cinders for wheelchairs and graded for an easy push. It lead out onto an open bald meadow with a panoramic view of the mountains all around. I was choked with tears. Here was a community who cared enough to make sure that everyone who wanted could experience the beauty of the trail. (The two pictures are just part of the view from that section.)
I thought again of our churches, which have a mandate to share the good news with the world and yet continue to turn a blind eye to that entire segment of society that are "different." Instead, the church is called to reach out to "the least of these" with a special effort. By not doing so, we hold back hope to this unreached group and the families around them.
How many handicap people in wheelchairs actually have used that section of the trail? I don't know. The point is that they now can, because somebody cared. How many people with disabilities or families raising special need children are in your area of influence? You will never know unless you build a trail that allows them access into your world and life.
This summer I'm out Blazing New Trails to make us more aware of others who would love to see some of the glory we take for granted.
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