Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28 (NLT)
Lean-tos, shelters or huts as they are called in various areas and states are a welcomed sight at any part of the day, but especially at the end of a long day.
During the day these shelters make a good place to stop and eat lunch or a snack. Some use them for a little siesta before continuing. They are also used for communication centers as hikers sign the log book to let others know where they are, the time they were there and/or where they will be in the next day or two; especially if you are in areas with no cell service. One other thing that makes them a welcomed sight is that almost all of them have a reliable water source nearby.
But at the end of the day there is nothing you want to see more than the place where you are going to take the heavy load off your weary bones for the rest of the day. For which your feet bow down to you every time. 😊
While hiking through New Jersey we got three inches of rain one day and two inches the next day. The trails were creeks, and the creeks were rivers! Some bridges were wiped out, some were in the middle of the creek (you would wade out in the water to the bridge, cross it and then get back into the water to wade the rest of the way to the other side), and others you crossed quickly because they were vibrating so from the water running past them. It was CRAZY for several days!
Everyone was soaked no matter what kind of rain gear you had. Nobody wanted to tent, everyone wanted to sleep in a shelter, including yours truly. Who wants to put a soggy tent up in the rain and then sleep in it with all your wet smelly gear? ☹
As I was slogging my way in water-soaked boots and body towards a shelter near the end of the day, I crossed paths with another ATer.
He was from England doing a 500-mile section to his friend’s house, and he had never hiked before!! You will never guess the trail name he was given by his fellow ATers… Remember he is from England…accent… Another clue? It has something to do with a Bond… You got it, they dubbed him “007” from the James Bond movie.
Well anyway, he and I had the same boots, body and plan. We also had the same shelter in our crosshairs, both hoping it would not be full of fellow hikers.
We eventually got there and to our surprise and delight it was empty! We could not believe it! We found our refuge and had it all to ourselves!
We quickly got out of our wet clothes and then went about our chores of cleaning up, cooking, wringing out and hanging wet clothes and getting our sleeping bags out.
In addition to being able to drop our pack for a while, you can certainly imagine how glad we were to get out of the rain, into dry clothes and snuggle DEEP down into a warm sleeping bag with a full stomach. What a wonderful refuge it is.
We all carry a load of trouble of some sort wherever we are. The Psalmist in 6:2 says, Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.
I have had troubled bones a plenty on the AT, but you and I have them a plenty in our regular daily life as well.
ATers intuitively know where to run to find a refuge from their troubled bones. They either run for the shelters or if one is close enough, to town. It’s a no brainer. And oh, how sweet it is when you get there, especially if it is a town! Now you get to wash miles and days of dirt and sweat off your body, wash your grimy stinky clothes, spend some time with friends, get some REAL food, eat two or three deserts and then maybe more REAL food, dry out your gear, resupply and sleep in a real bed. What a recipe for an ATers troubled bones. 😊
Do we just as intuitively and quickly know where to run for refuge in our daily life? Jesus says to come to Him, the Psalmist cries out to God the Father and one of the titles attributed to the Holy Spirit that indwells every gospel believer is Comforter.
Well, I know how a shelter or especially a town can be a refuge to an ATer, but how does God the Father, Son or Holy Spirit become a refuge for our daily troubled bones?
Philippians 4:6 is one good answer. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…
We run not to a shelter made of wood and stone in the wilderness, but to our Lord in heaven through prayer, entering into the warm and safe refuge of His immediate presence and complete attention. When we have curled up under, not the shed roof of a lean-to, but the shadow of His wings (Psa. 17:8), in that embrace we begin to reverence our Lord by calling to our mind His glorious attributes, precious promises and sacred Scripture verses and passages that mean so much to us. Then, instead of shedding wet clothes, cleaning up, etc., we begin to share what is troubling our bones with Him, being real, honest and vulnerable with Him. We stay here in this embrace and cycle of praise, confession and petition with Him not until our problems are solved, but until we can trust our Lord again, who is bigger than our problems and loves us with an everlasting love, not leaving His refuge until we can drop and leave our troubles at His feet and do it walking away with thanksgiving.
It is then that God says in verse 7, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
That, is the best recipe for troubled bones!
Maybe the next time we have troubled bones, it would be good for us to grab a rock or something to represent our burden and take it with us into prayer. Then, not leaving that sacred refuge until we can leave the rock behind, walking away with thanksgiving. 😊
Faith Aids 