“Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money—not even an extra tunic”

To walk more every day, especially in the hills is something I would like to do. Walking teaches me. The rhythm, the fresh air, the sightseeing. Yes it’s therapeutic and so lovely discovering places the bus or car never enter. Mood changing too. It’s hard to remain at boiling point anger after forty minutes of vigorous walking. Sadness after battling through the wind and rain gives way to invigoration and perspective.

I often wonder how many steps, how many miles my husband and I have taken in the last twenty years since we got together. I guess I could make an estimate. But why? All that walking (and all the talking) has embedded so much experience, so much joy. Even hard conversations and hard times benefited from walking. Greeting wee Shetland ponies, stroking cats that meet us on the path and feeding the old horses with carrots is not just for children.

Memories of those walks and climbs nourish and sustain. Ronnie making the mistake of eating a large breakfast before we climbed Scotland’s largest mountain Ben Nevis! Ben Hope, Ben Loyal, Ben Lomond – they almost feel like friends! And the regulars we walked over and over again: Tinto hill, Coulter Fell and throughout the Pentland hills regional park.

It’s hard not to believe in a loving Creator at the top of a mountain or hill, even if it is raining. Our walking together over the years has been our pilgrimage. Regularly, we walked to step out of the daily grind and focus our lives toward God.

My father was also someone who loved to walk. I loved to walk with him and talk deep into the hills. At the end of his life the last thing he said to me was “travel light“. I was really bemused. Over the years, however, those words have really been my guide in all areas of life. Especially when I realised the biblical connection:

Instructing his disciples to travel light, Jesus said “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money—not even an extra tunic”

NRSV Luke 9.3

Dad’s words were to keep walking with Christ, don’t get bogged down and remember this world is only half-time!