The Land of My Sojourn by Owen Cooper

I really enjoy being outdoors- running, hiking, camping, and backpacking. I spend a lot of time on the Ice Age Trail. It’s close and yet it’s like stepping into another world.

When I go hiking or backpacking, I travel with no home. On the trail, I pass through a lot of places. Some views are so spectacular I wish I could build a house there. Some swamps are so mosquito infested I wish they would put the trail somewhere else. Some woods are so quiet and still I have to stop in peaceful reverence. Yet no matter how beautiful or how painful, I am still just passing through.

There’s a concept in the backpacking world called “light” hiking. That is the thought that most backpackers take more than they need therefore making their packs heavier. Consequently, they move slower with more pain and less enjoyment. The “light” hikers carry only what they need to be safe, travel more ground per day, feel less sore the next day, and overall have a more enjoyable experience.

Now I’ve read the books on this, but the problem is when I’m packing for a trip, I start thinking about how hungry I’ll be and how cold I’ll be and what if it rains and what if it’s hot. I can know in theory that I should leave some of this stuff behind, but in reality, it is harder to execute.

Don’t be afraid to leave things behind. The truth is we will enjoy the journey of life far more with less baggage. Jesus is our living bread and promises to never leave us nor forsake us. He WILL take care of us. We can read that truth in the Bible, but then we head out into the real world, and we get scared. I might need this. Or I might need that. Don’t be afraid to leave things behind. We can’t just read books about the Christian journey, we need to go out and experience it.

There’s so much to see and go through- pleasant green valleys and dark valleys of the shadow of death. They’ll be places we’ll want to stop and stay and places we wish we never had to go through. They’ll be places where worship will come easy and places where it’s all we can do to keep walking forward without bitterness and anger. Yet no matter what our sojourn brings us, remember, we are just passing through. As enjoyable and painful as the journey is, some day we will be done. And then we will be home.