Kindling

No matter how far into the wilderness we wander,
How lonely the ridge
or how shadowed the valley we claim,
The trail reminds us we are not the first.
For the worn path,
Faded markers and
Weathered plaques murmur old names and ancient courage.

We are keepers of stories.
Each footfall is an echo.
We blaze our own path through thorn and wonder,
Yet we follow down the tales of pilgrims past,
Drawing strength from their triumphs and their scars,
Leaving fresh prints for those who follow
A thread of light in the gathering dusk.

Miles bruise the spirit and test the bone.
Stumbling into camp you find it:
A small mound of dry twigs, a few pieces of wood, stacked with care by unseen hands.

Someone has been here. Someone understands the ache of the day.
They could not carry your pack or walk your miles,
But this modest offering
Is a gentle grace thats kindles warmth within and without.
A quiet blessing.
A whispered I see you.

This is my hope for the Arabah project
That it might be a humble gift of kindling and spark.
I have stalled where the trail feels endless.
I have known the long hours when the heart grows heavy, the mind grows dark and the horizon blurs in weariness.
I've heard the evil whispers that run cold the blood.

I offer you a few dry twigs and seasoned pieces of wood:
Images like embers,
Musings like smoke rising.
Your journey will not mirror mine, nor can I carry you upon my shoulders.
Yet may what I have to offer spark a flame in your weary chest.
May it remind you, in the cold hush of evening:
You are not the first to walk this way.
Someone knows.
Someone cares.
All human sorrow, all human joy, is shared beneath the same sky.

And above every trail, there walks a Saviour who has felt every blister, every sunburn, every hidden rash of the soul. A brother who knows the sting of disappointment, the weight of grief, the lonely ache that settles between the ribs.

Come.
Sit.
Warm yourself by the fire.
Let the glow seep into your bones.
You are seen.
You are loved.
The trail continues tomorrow,
and so will you.