Musings on Spiritual Matters

I left out at 5:00am to meet with my friend Dale Sadler close to Nashville. Dale and I have a tradition of going on a hike each year. Dale and I have been friends for some time now. We met while he was the youth minister for the Portland church of Christ and I was a youth minister for the Hartsville Pike church of Christ. These were neighboring towns in the northern-central part of Tennessee. We have remained good friends as I have moved on to working in Waynesboro and he has moved on to working in the school system as a counselor. Last year we hiked the 6 mile Honey Creek Loop destination, this year was more challenging but the rewards were greater. The hike to Virgin Falls is scenic with the overlook of the river valley, a smaller waterfall with a beautiful cave underneath. We hiked back into a narrow cave for a long distance, and the highlight was the incredible virgin falls. This was a strikingly high waterfall in the middle of the forest. The water rushed over the top to descend back into the ground. It was truly a marvel to behold. Walking with Dale is more of a healing time from ministry. He is a trained listener, a sympathizing ear, and a true friend. My body deteriorates and my soul is refreshed. The hike is more about accomplishment, dedication, and growth. The terrain is difficult. The length is unbearable. The sense of completion is fantastic. I guess we walk, every year, to remind ourselves of the nature of ministry, the nature of life, and the nature of fulfillment. We walk to see the natural beauty; we walk to see ourselves. Like ministry, we pour ourselves over the cliff, this causes white water, chaos, but we create a mist that cools the air, that falls on those around us as a calming breeze. We sink back into nothingness, but before we do, we have healed, nourished, those around us.

Related posts:

1. Went On a Huge Hike
2. Hike to Quandary Peak
3. Halt to the Hike
4. Experiences at Mile High
5. Attending Evangelism University

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This entry was posted by Matthew on Friday, May 30th, 2008 at 9:11 am and is filed under Church News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.