A New Year's Day Hike

Sunday, January 1, 2017

A new day, a new year, a new beginning. As I walked to church in McIntosh, I passed this  Christmas angel, still heralding the Good News of a Savior's birth, peace on earth, good will toward men.

The Sunday School lesson was about praise. "Sing unto him a new song..." (Psalm 33:3) We were reminded that our worship should not be confined to a sanctuary or worship center. In my travels, I have found endless places and things that point my heart to the Lord, the maker of the earth and all that is in it and the provider of my daily needs.

In 2016 I completed the 52 Hike Challenge by hiking 52 different trails averaging one a week. (I hiked a lot, so finished more than 52, but enjoyed it so much, I decided to challenge myself again.) 

So my friend Tina and I hiked a new trail that afternoon. Our 1st day hike was at Longleaf Flatwoods Reserve, not far from Cross Creek.

We hiked the outside perimeter of all these loops, a total of 4.5 miles.

Flatwoods is a good name. The trail was level and relatively easy. The trail begins in a landscape of open savanna, with scattered longleaf pines rising from an understory of saw palmetto.

"Let all the earth fear (revere) the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him." (Psalm 33:8)

Round a bend and you come upon a a broad area of young pines, a generation of new forest regenerating from the old. Even the most compassionate urban planners can't construct a living environment as hospitable as that which God has created for humankind.

AS we turn onto a limerock road, the habitat begins to shift to sandhills.

A variety of oak trees provide puddles of shade along this portion of the trail. After a rain, the live oaks will be resplendent with resurrection fern.

Also in the Spring, this trail is bedecked with many colorful wildflowers worthy of a return visit.

" The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord." (Psalm 33:5)