Wednesday, March 6, 2013

“Death cannot stop true love…”

“… all it can do is delay it for a while.”  ~Wesley from The Princess Bride

I’ll connect the random thoughts in a minute, but I need to start out by saying, “BEST DENTAL OFFICE EVER!”  My regular dental hygienist, Jen, is the gal who taught me to ride and shoot guns off horseback.  She has been an encouragement to me for years to do the adventurous things that are a little off the beaten path for most folks.  I went to the dentist last week.  I had a different person clean my teeth.  But I had the opportunity to talk about my upcoming trek. 

Then Jen stuck her head in my room and exclaimed to her co-worker, “Diane!  This is the person I’ve told you about!”

Embarrassment and paranoia took over my brain, but the tone of voice was so positive and excited, I figured whatever she said couldn’t be too bad.  I just never think that I’m someone that people talk about when I’m not around, so it confuses, and somewhat frightens, me when they do.

Once there were no hands in my mouth anymore, we spent a bit of time catching up and talking about the upcoming events in our lives.  I walked out of that dental office smiling a big, bright smile.  Not only did I not have any cavities, but I also felt like there was no way that I could possibly fail in my endeavor to walk the Appalachian Trail.  Why?  Well, for starters, Jen reminded me of who she knows me to be – adventurous, tenacious, doesn’t give into fear, willing to try, and someone who stands up for what I believe in.  Diane reminded me that who I am is something of value to others – my experiences can help someone else, whether they are past, present, or upcoming experiences. 

I walked out of the dentist more determined to stay on the Trail, more determined to fight through the bugs, the muscle aches, the rain, the moldy food, the heat, the cold, the hole in the blow-up sleeping pad.  Then I started thinking of all the people who have hiked the trail with even more challenges in their way.  Like the blind guy who hiked the whole trail, and fell over 500 times.  Or the kids who broke a rib – twice – on the trail, but still hiked the whole thing.  I thought of the people who started the Trail but needed to leave due to budget or family emergency or illness or injury, but eventually they came back.  Maybe in a few months.  Maybe in a few years.  They got back to the Trail, and finished it.  Maybe it took them several trips back and forth from home to the place they left off.  But they never gave up. 

And then that Princess Bride quote popped in my head.  It’s True Love that keeps people on the Trail.  For the love of something – be it nature, or the challenge, or the solitude, or the adventure, or the metaphysical journey – Love drives people along the Trail.  Maybe they need to get off for a while.  It seems like death.  It seems like failure.  It seems like the end.  It seems an impossibility to go back. 

But, all that can do is delay it for a while. 

Princess Buttercup saw death as the end to her true love with Wesley.  She didn’t know True Love would simply take a different route to get back to her. 

There’s no reason for me to leave the Trail, even if I have to come home for a time between the start and the end.   And if a blind guy can hike the Trail.  If someone can hike with a broken rib, surely someone who’s been tossed of a horse with a gun in her hand can hike it, right?  What’s the worst that could happen?  I get delayed. 

Well, that doesn’t seem like a very big deal.

2 comments:

  1. I have NO doubts that you'll do it, and with style!

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  2. On or off the trail it is the journey that matters. Man proposes and God disposes. I believe you can do this. Our fallen selves love to feed us lies made of doubt and poor self-awareness. It is not about completing the trial of the trail. It is about making sure that each step is taken in the right spirit. Georgia may be the physical destination but the journey is far bigger. The joy is in making each step land in Christ's footprint.

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