A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES
Although I have been a postman for quite a number of years now, it was only in the last few years that I began to see walking as a passion. At first I would travel to different towns and cities to explore them but eventually I found that I wanted to see more and the best way to see more of the surrounding areas is to walk from one town or city to another.
When you travel by train, coach or car you can miss so much, by walking, you get more time to appreciate your surroundings. Walking gives you the opportunity to find different ways to get from one place to another that are inaccessible in other ways. You dont have to walk as much as I have done in order to do this; you know your own limits, but some could probably do even more. For me it is quite addictive but I am limited by work. Walking forty or fifty miles and getting back home in time to get some sleep; to get up for work the day after was quite a challenge. Even someone who has quite alot of experience of walking like me still found it hard going at times. I even managed to get lost sometimes. It is very easy to do but I believe that God got me home safely each time and I believe this is important because no matter how much we plan ahead or how clever we think we are, we don't know everything.
We all have to exercise faith even when we don't realise that we are doing it. This is not blind faith; there are good reasons for believing it.
What I hope to do in the coming weeks is show you some of the walks that I did in order to reach one thousand miles. You can follow me on this "journey of a thousand miles". Each walk is like a mini adventure. There were such contrasts, not just between different walks, but also within the same walk, as you find yourself looking back from where you have come from, to where you are now and where you hope to be at the end.
In many ways it parallels our way through life; there are hopes and anxieties , uncertainties and moments of joy and a sense of relief when we reach our destination. For those of us with a faith in God, we know that this life is a journey towards having a more clearer relationship with Him and each other. Yes we experience all the emotions that I have mentioned above and even more. We experience the hurt and pain as well as the peace and joy, but all this only makes sense with God, because God brings meaning and purpose into this world. Without God our experience of struggle, joy, pain, hurt and love are pointless and the stories that we make of our lives do not mean a thing when we're gone.
Someone once asked me "Why do you go on these long walks"? Is is something to do with your faith? Is it in the Bible? I think the question was aimed at whether somewhere in the Bible it says you must walk one thousand miles in order to be saved (go to Heaven). If that were the case then I think Heaven would be a very sad place indeed, not to mention that everyone would have sore feet. But the Bible doesn't say this at all.
My Faith is what Jesus did on the cross. He paid the price with his body and blood. I could never earn salvation; not even by walking one thousand miles.. Coincidently the pain that I get from these long walks is nothing in comparison to the suffering that the Apostles and even Christians througout the world today suffer.
I walk because I am thankful to God for what He has done and what He has provided.
God Bless
Philip Catherall.
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