100 Yards of Faith

Last night Randy and I went to the movies to see "A Walk in the Woods," about two old guys who walk the Appalachian Trail. There were so many moments that brought up memories of our Camino, walking across Spain, 18 months ago.

The movie was hilarious. If Bill Bryson and his walking companion were anything like Robert Redford and Nick Nolte, it must have been a real trip.

SPOILER ALERT. Skip down to "My friend Mark" if you don't want to know how the movie ends!

But the ending seemed a big abrupt. And more than abrupt, a bit disappointing. Why? Because they didn't finish. After all they had been through, the mountains they had already climbed, the fears they had overcome, one day they just pack up and go home. And as an audience you feel let down. You were fighting for them, these two old, out of shape guys, and you wanted them to make it all 2,160 miles. Because if they could do it anyone could.

But the moral of the story was not that to win you have to finish. Maybe the moral is that to win you simply have to start.

My friend Mark began his walk across Spain in mid August, but had to return two weeks later to deal with some issues at home. Before walking my own Camino I might have seen this as a failure. But not today. Today I can see that he took the leap of faith needed to begin. And he learned so much in just two weeks! In his own words...

If I had to write a story about my Camino, the title would be "Do You Have 100 Yards of Faith?" Several times I was convinced I had taken a wrong turn and either backtracked or waited till I saw others for my answer. One time I was walking thru a forest and suddenly realized I was all alone. I stopped for at least 15 minutes, listening and watching. I heard nor saw no one. As soon as I started to go back, two guys came down the trail and I asked if this was the way. They said it must be, it was the only way they could see. So I started again in the direction I had been heading and not more than 100 yards down the path, at a bend in the trail, was a signpost. Wow. I stopped dead in my tracks. Overwhelmed by the realization that all He was asking of me, when I thought I was lost, was to have 100 more yards of faith. - Mark Kirkwood

We are rarely able to see the end from the beginning. In our marriages, our careers, our health, or other opportunities. For some, that is reason enough to quit in the middle, or to never even begin. For others, it is reason enough to look to friends, family, the world, even strangers to tell you if you are going the right direction.

But faith isn't knowing how it is all going to turn out. Faith is not knowing, but being willing to keep moving forward anyway.

So... Do you have 100 yards of faith?