The Great Outdoors
My daughter Cape and I lumbered through the snow and ice. Snow lay upwards of two feet deep outside the narrow footpath that we walked. We were without any sort of cleats or spikes, and the downtrodden path was either a slushy mush or icy hard. The ice was slick, so every muscle in our legs clenched, trying to hold our feet steady as we shifted weight with our forward momentum.
It was bitterly cold atop Mount Mitchell that morning and the forest was eerily quiet. Our steps announced our presence like elephants marching. Our breath froze and appeared like a dragon’s breath as soon as it left the warm confines of our lungs. “It was 17 degrees when we were at the summit,” I said to Cape. “I think it’s colder here,” she said, “these snow-covered trees are keeping the sun completely out.” I reasoned she was probably right. My breath was freezing to ice around my facemask and occasionally I pulled shards of ice from around the cloth that surrounded my lips.
“How much further, you think?” she asked inquisitively. “Just one more mile,” I responded. She laughed. The phrase “just one more mile” had been uttered countless on our expeditions. Searching for a wounded deer and curious about how much further we’d walk to find him… “just one more mile.” Paddling across the Mobile River Delta, running well behind schedule at near midnight… “just one more mile.” But for every mile we toiled, there was always rest and a reward to be had at journey’s end. This day it would be the view from atop a rock face near Missionary Ridge.
Paul, too, had miles to go before he found rest. On the road to Damascus, he encountered Jesus. As a consequence, Paul was left blinded by lesions over his eyes, but he knew he had encountered Jesus. A few days later, the scabs fell from his eyes, and he surrendered to the awe-inspiring authority of God. Like standing atop that rock outcropping, Paul could finally see. But Paul didn’t stop. There was work to be done. Cape and I could not have simply sat atop those rocks until we froze or starved to death. Despite the culmination of our mission, there was still work to be done. Paul knew he had work as well. He spent the next few years in tutelage with Ananias and others, forgetting his old ways and learning all that he could about the teachings of Jesus. You see, those old ways never fulfilled Paul. Those old ways were filled with an insatiable lust for causing pain and grief to anyone who followed Jesus. He never found contentment or happiness. No matter how many letters he carried, no matter how many accolades he received, no matter how much blood he spilled… it was never quenching. So, after his conversion, Paul committed himself to becoming a new man who reformed himself to the teachings of the One he knew to be true. For years, he studied, and then he commenced his missionary journeys all across what we know as the Middle East. From those missionary journeys came most of the books of the New Testament.
Most people abandon their New Year’s Resolutions by January 12 of the new year. Paul resolved to be a new man in Christ, and he spent years pursuing that resolve. What strengthened him? Christ. What do you resolve and what does it promote? Wealth, fame, glory? Those things promote the false god of self that only leads to the same feelings of dissatisfaction that Paul suffered during his quest to persecute Christiandom. Resolve to pursue Christ and you will be rewarded with the most glorious view of the setting sun that you have ever seen- the sunset of life with an eternity in fellowship with a loving Father. Like Paul, we all have continuous work to be done. Our mission never ends. Have the wrong resolve, and you will quickly find yourself abandoning the quest. Resolve for righteousness, and your quest will be fueled for a lifetime. Though you may be tired, your feet may hurt, and your breath may be labored… carry on, “just one more mile.”
-Walt Merrell is a Christian Outdoorsman who writes of his adventures with his family, with the hope that others might be inspired and encouraged to embrace God’s tapestry, otherwise known as the great outdoors, as a means of finding Common Ground. You can follow him at Shepherding Outdoors on FB, YT and IG and at shepherdingoutdoors.com.
