Day 21 of the End to End in 2019 included quite a bit of up hill walking on a warm day. I was going over the Quantocks, a designated area of outstanding natural beauty and it was lovely. At the bottom of the hill was a small well dedicated to St Agnes with a medieval well house. Finding little gems like this on the route always lifted my spirits even if the route was up hill.
It was also poorly signed. I had decided to take the MacMillan Way West, which is one of many new walking routes that you’ll find here and there. This one goes eastwards and is designed for those who want a good walk but also want to raise money for a popular charity. With charities of all sizes struggling with fund raising this year, we might all find ourselves on the MacMillan Way or equivalent next year.
Sometimes you have to ask the way. A helpful mountain bike rider put me back on track. Sometimes a companion appears at just the right moment to confirm your route: Bob walked towards me across a field. But sometimes you just feel as if this up hill journey is never coming to an end.
At such times I’d make up my Psalm snippets, sections of Psalms from my remembered bible, and add to them as I went along. I’d admire the things around me, like the green leaves lavishly using sunlight to make energy and I’d take the next step or the next breath. Sometimes it’s all you can do, like this:
As the deer searches for cool water,
On a day as hot as this
I too seek the cool shade
And welcome the one who brings me water.
The doe and I continue our searching:
Although the path is poorly marked
I find the right direction.
From the remembered gospel
Jesus said ‘Meet me in Galilee’.
It was all up hill to Galilee, or seemed so at the time.
Yet there they were, meeting him again as if it were only yesterday.
Everyday God, meeting us in the up and the down,
keep us on track when the route seems to be endlessly hard.
Acknowledging your creative hand in the silent activity of the landscape,
and your companionable presence in the way finders and guides,
may we continue to tread gently on the earth.
JAL: 22.04.2020 in Longdendale