Not everything in life comes with a price tag. Sometimes you get ready to check out, but you have no idea whats gonna be on the price register screen.
We have been bombarded with Black Friday ads for the last week informing us of what great deals are out there on all types of things, and all the emphasis has been on the low cost.
However, today I began to see what a great price I paid to thru-hike the AT.
The price I'm referring to cannot be measured in dollars or any other form of currency.
I measure it in the hours I lost hanging out with my brothers and sister, who I thank God for everyday, it's amazing to have best friends that share your same blood.
I measure it in all the smiles I missed from my nephew Dylan. It's not often you truly get to see a smile that actually lights up a room, and already at 2 yrs. old, the kid could light up a stadium.
I measure it in the life-lesson conversations that never took place with my parents, who still impart wisdom on me every time we talk.
I measure it in the meals never eaten with all my friends, Brittany, Christopher, and Justin to name a few, who have all poured into me and helped me to keep on, keeping on in the daily test which is life.
I measure it in the gifts that will go unopened in the relationships I walked away from to set out on the journey. Now I'll never know what might have been.
I measure it in the hearts I will never know, as I walked alone each day, some heart went untouched, went to bed not knowing of Gods true love for it, the love that we are all put on Earth to embody, to show, to be.
The price of walking 2,176 miles as I tally the cost is quite substantial, one might even say "priceless."
1 comment:
my hope is the cost you sacrificed is fulfilled in what you gained along the way. there's no way for us to know what we might miss or what we will gain in the journey's ahead. it's why you have to follow God into the next journey just like you did this one. maybe the relationships you made on the trail and the lives you impacted and crossed there, were exactly the ones you were supposed to at the time. keep seeking God as he leads you to the next journey. it's the only way any of us can have peace about the things we miss while we are gaining others. i know this journey will continue to walk with you long after your 2,000+ mile hike through the woods is a fond memory... glad you're home.
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