Micah 2:
In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established
as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and peoples will stream to it.
2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
4 Everyone will sit under their own vine
and under their own fig tree,
and no one will make them afraid,
for the LORD Almighty has spoken.
5 All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods;
we will walk in the name of the LORD
our God for ever and ever.
Well, the best laid plans of dog and me.. orphan go astray.
Zephyr and I, over the last few years, have twice walked twice around Toronto (yeah that's four times!). We did this by driving to point A walking a short distance to Point B then walking back to A to ride home in the car. Its amazing the distances we covered by accumulating short doable walks in the cool of the evenings.
This wondrous miniature schnauzer has come to love the hikes as much as I. After sniffing everything with an odour - that's just about everything - she gets into a rhythm as if in training for the marathon - often leading the way.
To illustrate, this last Wednesday morning, July 20th, I put on my walking hat - the black one with the oversized goose feathers that I always wear - and pretty much only wear - on our adventures. Instead of going for a walk, because of the heat I grabbed my CDP (Celtic Daily Prayer) and sat on the living room couch in our AC'd house for morning devotions. Zephyr pranced to my feet, patiently waited, then jumped up on the coach, stared at me intently and managed a muffled "Bark"! Her message was unmistakable: "If you wear that hat, Dad, it's time to walk - move it!"
Alas, the heat outside prevented that. In spite of her insistence, we did no walking that day - or the next or the next or the next. The adventure hat languished outside hung on a canoe oar - it was just way too hot for either of us.
Then she lost her appetite - other than nibbling a wee bit. While we continue to keep her out of the sun and the Vet coaches her to health, Zephyr has to bow out of our walks till she regains her strength.
Facing long walks without my canine companion feels a bit like Atreyu continuing without Artax (see Never-Ending Story). It might allow for longer, more adventurous trips and she can join me later when the Carrying Place Trail goes through the cooler Ontario woodland - but I will miss the company.
Reading the early European explorations of this part of the new world, one is awed by what they accomplished. As Heather Robertson reports in her excellent Walking Into Wilderness, John Graves Simcoe's initial (1783) travels up the Carrying Place were short jaunts as far as they could go through untamed country -on a thinly worn footpath. Four days it took him to arrive at Holland Marsh then on by canoe to Georgian Bay. On the return trip from the Hollland River it took just three days to proceed down what would become Yonge Street. An accident to one of their men caused them to go slowly! People - and dogs - and their health are more important than timely distance covered.
That's nothing compared to Robert Livingston who during the war of 1812 traveled from Fort Willow near Barrie to Fort Mackinac in Sault St Marie and back - in winter - on snowshoe!
All of these pale in comparison to the first nations peoples - who most Europeans beginning with Étienne Brûlé (1593-1633) struggled to keep up with.
Courage on your walk - one step at a time.
All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods;
we will walk in the name of the LORD
our God for ever and ever.
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