Treasures from the Trail, Part 7 - Trail Names

In the book “Wild,” a woman's recounting of her hike along the Pacific Crest Trail, I learned that through-hikers typically receive trail names, monikers given to them by others or thought of by themselves.   My friend Carla, who went on a High Sierra adventure just weeks before I did, reported back to me that she had given herself a trail name, MeadowLark!  So hiking along, I kept my mind open and searching for what my trail name would be.

John Denver in his song “Rocky Mountain High,” sings these words, “seeking grace in every step he takes.”  This song was replaying in my mind, singing in me as I ventured, helping me realize that I, too, with each step am watching for grace.  I tried a few names on for size before I adopted the name “Grace-Seeker,” not the grooviest of the names I'd conjured up, as I was hoping for something with a word about nature in it (Grace Blossom for example), but “Grace-Seeker” settled in me as the most fitting.  I felt funny about sharing my new identity with Brent, pretty certain he would find it silly for one to give oneself a trail name.  But I did inform him of my new title, which led to a really good talk between us as we made our way over a couple-mile portion of the John Muir Trail, leading us past several lakes without a climb, trails that meandered a little up, a little down and a lot across -- the way I think every trail ought to be (and life itself, for that matter)! Wildflowers of dizzying brightness and variety sprinkled the mountainsides, granting us lovely views as we conversed.

“What is grace to you?” he asked, inquiring more about my new name. 

The mist from a waterfall when I'm miserably hot, 
a flat spot in the middle of a steep climb, a splash of beautiful color from a flower that speaks life and energy into me when my eyes are weary from viewing miles of gray granite rock and dust, 
a made-for-me-boulder offering a place of rest, the sound of a rushing river in the distance growing closer with each step. Sometimes grace is found in the next breath, then the next or that couple of seconds when the right foot is holding my weight and the bottom of my left receives rest and vice versa. 

One thing is for certain: I'm always on the lookout for grace!

We talked about what that is in everyday life, where when things are difficult, I am seeking out where is God in this and anticipating what surprising way He is going to show me His goodness, sometimes in unavoidably clear ways, other times in ways that harder to discern, bringing me courage, even rest, for the journey of life. God has the universe at His disposal with ways to bless His loved ones, so the creative ways He reveals His goodness really are without limit.  

Grace is described in Scripture as being given lavishly by God.  It's God doing for me what I could not possibly do for myself -- and bestowing it gladly upon me. By golly, if it's around me in such abundance, I want to notice it, depend on it, lean into it, absorb it, to splash in it and let it change the who of me.

Brent is an awesome listener. He tuned into my heart as we walked and asked questions here and there. I can't say that we came up with an amazingly precise definition of grace, but the beauty was in our exploration and reception of it together.

“I thought of my trail name!” Brent blurted out the following day. Surprised that he had been in search of a name for himself, I was eager to know what it was. “PackMann!” he replied. We both found this to be perfectly suited to him, with "Mann" being our last name and Brent's super-hero efficiency at arranging our backpacks. He somehow finds a place for everything we thought couldn't possibly fit, and he is the one who is always helping to retrieve my belongings from my pack. On a subsequent hike, I gave him the middle name “MoonShadow,” because we went on a walk at night and he pointed out that we'd be able to see our shadows in the light of the moon. He notices things like that, causing me to be aware of them.

What unexpected joy we found in seeking out new names and sharing them with each other. The lightheartedness of it was refreshing and brought some levity to our steps.

Sounds like grace to me.

PackMann doing his thing.

Click on link below for video of Brent's insistence we use trail names on final day of hike.  Too fun.

http://youtu.be/uCRj9JKL9UM