Psalm 145:4 (ESV)
One generation shall commend your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts.
You learn quickly that most hikers on the Appalachian Trail, (AT) or any other serious hiking trail, would literally give you the shirt off their own back if you needed it.
I have been given water when I had none, and they had little. I have been offered mosquito repellent when it was the last little bit they had in a mosquito infested area. I had one person put a new buckle on my then dysfunctional pack. I have been given all kinds of food and treats. I have been given lots of rides. Three of us teamed up one day in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in 74 mph winds to watch over the safety of one another. When I realized I lost the tripod to my camera, a ridge walker/ranger at the lean-to I was at said if he found it he would mail it back to me. Shortly after I got home it arrived in the mail. Frustrated by not finding a place to camp and trying to create one in a not so pleasant spot as it was late, a fellow hiker, Cat, convinced me to go with him about a mile further where he was certain the terrain would be better. He even waited for me to repack my stuff and we left together hoping for our little piece of the Promised Land. Sure enough, we found a spot for each of us, and there was even water nearby. One of my shuttles who came to return me to my car after a trip, arrived with some pizza he bought for me. I had two state troopers find me “on the trail” in Vermont, to inform me that my dad had died of a massive heart attack, and a shuttle driver rearranged her schedule to get me back to my car A.S.A.P.
These are just a few testimonies of how I can joyously and gratefully commend the works, mighty acts, of so many others. 😊
I have gladly and eagerly done many of the above for other hikers as well.
These kinds of actions are so common on the AT that you hear people commending the meaningful and encouraging actions of others all the time and we are not surprised by them at all. Not being surprised by them does not mean that we get to a point where we appreciate them less or begin to take them for granted. It just means that they become a regular part of our daily routine and personal experience. We are still always impressed and blessed by these mighty acts of genuine kindness! 😊
The AT hiking community, as a whole, embraces and practices thoughtful concern and generosity for their fellow adventurers. We have each other’s back whether we have ever met one another or not. If we are hiking the AT, most of us feel like family.
In our off trail daily jaunts amongst our fellow human race unfortunately, the majority of us shy away from asking strangers for help or even offering help. Too many of us even hit the brakes when it comes to asking friends for help. ☹ We do not feel like family, especially if we have never met one another.
Yet, when we encounter a need on the AT that we require help with, we anticipate the next stranger’s willingness to help us. We do not think about how many hikers will we have to ask before one will help us, we just think about the next one that will come along. The reason for this is that the habitual works of the AT’ers in general is constantly experienced and commended by so many others.
It is a sad reality that we have such a struggle in loving our neighbors, anyone who crosses our path on any given day, as ourselves wherever we are in our journey of everyday life, (Mark 12:33).
As you can imagine, there is a lot of joy and satisfaction one experiences when he or she reaches the end of the AT. But there are several elements of sadness one experiences after reaching the conclusion of the AT as well. Missing the warmth and support of the loving actions of our neighbors on a daily basis is one of them. Many anticipate that there will be very few caring acts of kindness to experience and declare after they step back in the mainstream of life. This triggers a deep sadness concerning leaving our hiking family that has become such a source of support and encouragement to us. We want to keep them at our side and continue to live life with them off the trail as we did on it.
Coming off the trail ought not to stop us AT’ers from continuing to render random acts of loving kindness though. That would just be plain selfish and unloving. We have just spent over 2,100 miles experiencing and seeing just how powerful and meaningful these acts are. Whether they are reciprocated or not, we ought to continue to offer them; for ourselves as much as for them. They will be meaningful enough to someone who crosses our path each day that may commend our mighty acts to others, who prayerfully, will do the same.
2 Corinthians 1:3–4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
Proverbs 27:10, Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend, nor go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.
If we are gospel believers, God simply expects us to set an example in this area as He says in Acts 4:32, “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.” Whoever we are, or wherever we are in life, let us be proclaimed as having a high positive impact on ALL our neighbors as well as our fellow hikers! 😊
Faith Aids 