The Heart
The short excerpt is again from Jennifer Pharr Davis in her book, Becoming Odyssa, to be released later this Fall. This book is from her first time of hiking all 2175 miles of the Appalachian Trail. The scripture is 1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.
Before I started hiking the trail, two of my biggest concerns were that I would be bored or lonely, but I think I actually experience loneliness and boredom more at home than on the trail. Maybe the fact that I was not lonely had more to do with the quality of relationships than the quantity. In college, I remember sitting in a packed classroom or cheering at a football game in the midst of a massive crowd, yet I would still feel alone. I had also spent the last three years loathing social mixers. Traveling around the room and having the same meaningless conversations with different people left me feeling empty inside.
The problem in college, and in life, was that there were a lot of people who knew what I was, but they did not know who I was. No wonder there was so much pressure to look a certain way, when usually the only thing people got to know was someone s outer image.
One of my favorite things about the trail is that you did not see your face. I mean, I guess you could have seen it in the reflection of the water, but there were no mirrors, no vanities, and no places to check yourself out. I used to think that people perceived me based on how I looked but on the trail I felt like people perceived me by how I treated them, by what I said to them and how well I listened. I felt beautiful when I made other people smile.
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining
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