Over the last three entries, I’ve been sharing lessons I learnt whilst on a walk. (Read part one, part two and part three by clicking the links.) As I mentioned in the last entry, this was certainly no ordinary walk for me.
It’s worth mentioning what a fan I am of walking. Now by walking, I’m not talking about the hardcore walkers who traverse the plains and mountains with their fancy boots and the likelihood to be out camping. Nah, that is not me. I like a pleasant stroll somewhere. Indeed one of the reasons why I have not learnt to drive is because of my comfort being a pedestrian and if that is not going to do it I’ll use public transport, but really walking is the goal. (Which of course is something that my wife who drives and does all the driving has found … challenging.)
My Dad preferred walking, and many a summer evening on a Saturday with the sun still up after church service, he would take his children out for a stroll. Quality time spent with my Dad. It’s one of the things I miss with my Dad currently enjoying his life with my Mum in Jamaica.
I moved to Bletchley in July 2010 (but you know that because you remember reading about it). In January 2011 I made contact with the local church – Spurgeon Baptist Church. The minister there goes by the name Chris Bell.
I would hardly call myself a regular attendee of the church, but evidently there was sufficient contact especially via the children and wife for me to have loose connections over the rest of 2011 into the early part of this year.
As I mentioned, I had a diversion from around the beginning of March to the end of May. During that tumultuous period, Chris emerged as a strong and positive force. He did so in the most unassuming manner, merely coming alongside me every now and again and taking me for walks around the Bletchley area. It was almost as though Dad was back. Like my Dad, Chris was not one to make a fuss about much. He didn’t intrude, he didn’t patronise. He simply walked with me and allowed me to walk with him.
That meant the world to me. It did me a tremendous amount of good.
Of course he’s a busy man, but he still makes time every now and then to pop over and get me out for a walk and a talk. One of SBC’s outlets is something called CrossLinks – a superb community initiative based in the heart of an area of Bletchley known for its ‘social deprivation’. (When I arrived in Bletchley it was known as a ‘rough’ area.) CrossLinks offers a variety of community services for those who might not be able to access that help for the myriad of barriers that prevent them.
The story of its inception and development is another good example of church in the community seeking to make a difference. As a church based community initiative there are obviously financial and personnel challenges that occur.
With that in mind Chris sought to do a sponsored walk to raise some funds to support the initiative. Being as though we were doing our walks together and he was being a big help, I thought this would be an ideal time to spend some time with the man of God and do something worthy for the community.
That was the thinking anyway.
What I wasn’t expecting was to walk a total of 40 miles in two days. I like a walk like the next guy (who likes walking obviously), but this was way beyond anything else I’d ever done before. The route we took was alongside the Grand Union Canal, we didn’t walk all of it, but the part that went from the Cosgrove near Milton Keynes, walking through to Berkhamstead, which is not far outside London.
We did 14 miles the first day, and that was a killer for my legs, ankles, soles and back. So what better way to follow that than completing 26 miles the next day! Lovely stuff. It is only now that I am beginning to regain some feeling … everywhere! It was a truly gruelling physical challenge for me, whose idea of a physical challenge has been knowing whether to stop at 4 bakewell tarts, or to just be brave and wipe out the box.
Yet by God’s grace and with tremendous help from Chris, there I was able to complete that which I never thought possible. I do hope it helps the great cause at CrossLinks which is not about church recognition primarily, but about community service in action so that people know that there are people who care. Almost as though it’s something Jesus would want us to do in looking after those who are poor and destitute in our society.
You may have noted that some of the points I’ve made in the three entries had a bit more to do with life’s journey than with what is required to do a walk for charity and avoid dying. It is just a blessing to know that the things we go through in life are not trophies to show off to people, but are stories to share with people who can hopefully learn from our mistakes, as well as look out for the points where they can be blessed.
Thanks then to Chris Bell for his love and support and the walks. There are stories that I could tell about him … but I still end up looking the bad guy and he comes up smelling of roses! An honour to walk with him.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
dmcd
Life With CD 