Stability on the AT: What Keeps You Balanced?

When Adam asked me on December 27, 2016 if I would like to join him in doing a thru hike of the AT, I did not know at that time he had been preparing himself for almost 10 months.  A big part of that preparation dealt with buying the proper gear required.

So after I confirmed with Adam that I believed the Lord was leading me to join him, he immediately sent me a long email containing the names and prices of various pieces of equipment.  One item he told me I would most certainly need was trekking poles.  Wow, was he ever correct!  At this point, I do not think it would be an exaggeration on my part to say that my Leki trekking poles are the new love of my life!

As I mentioned in a previous post, the AT is full of rocks.  Big rocks, round rocks, flat rocks, gray rocks, white rocks; well, you get the picture.  It is like an endless river of rocks!  Thus the main way we keep our balance as we hike over and through those rocks, while, I should add, carrying backpacks that can weigh up to 30 lbs., is to utilize well and consistently our trekking poles.

I have at this point lost count of how many times I would have been pitched over a precipice, or fallen flat on my face, or would have certainly sprained an ankle if not for the stability provided by leaning on my poles.  The timing and placement of the poles is definitely a skill we must learn to perfect if we are to avoid the kind of injury that would force us to take time out for healing.

All of this has caused me to think much about the issue of balance and stability in everyday life.  While doing this "dance" with our trekking poles on the AT, we have walked by thousands of tall, beautiful trees of many shapes and varieties.  And when one familiar with Psalm 1 looks at trees all day, while ruminating on the issue of stability,  the answer provided by that particular Psalm just jumps out.  Let me quote part of it below.

     "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
     nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers,
     but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.
     He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season,
     and its leaf does not wither.  In all that he does, he prospers.
     The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away..."

So on the AT, trekking poles are a must.  The balance they provide is literally a life saver.  They help the hiker to stay on the path filled with so many rocks and roots; obstacles which could at any moment end their journey.

And in "real" everyday life, it is the Word of God that provides balance and stability.  The image of a tree with its roots sunk deep in ground located by an ever running stream, versus the image of chaff easily blown to and fro by the wind, is so powerful.

So what are you leaning on as you live out your life's journey?  What keeps you stable and balanced as life inevitably throws obstacles into your path?  Only a personal relationship with the God who has revealed His character and will through the Bible can make you like that prospering tree with deep roots, which is always bearing fruit, and not vulnerable to the shifting winds of the season.

Food for thought provided by doing life on the AT.