105-MILE HIKE MY SPIRITUAL TRAVELOGUE

BY EMILY STEPHENSON

At the end of last August, I went on a 12-day outdoor orientation trip for my college. Six other freshman, three orientation leaders, and I hiked from a nearby state park through the Northwoods all the way back to our college, Northland College in Wisconsin, where I was starting as a freshman. Despite the challenge of hiking for 12 days in a row—I'd never hiked more than three days at a time before, and we were covering 105 miles—each day was full of inspiration.

On our first day, we hiked about ten miles. It was tough, but God, who I'd learned from Christian Science was my divine Father-Mother, kept communicating to me that He-She is always there as "a very present help in trouble" (Ps. 46:1). I held on to this idea whenever I felt discouraged by how many miles we still had ahead of us. I'd learned from past experiences that God is a wonderful presence that strengthens and propels us forward, even when we feel like we're falling back.

As we hiked, I also prayed with a Bible passage from Isaiah: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness" (41:10). I just couldn't help but feel comforted. It reminded me that God's strength has no limits and is constant. Another inspiration that kept me going was a verse from Hymn 148 from the Christian Science Hymnal: