Our Hike To Preacher’s Rock, A Once In A “Longterm” Experience
- 4 hours ago
- 4 min read
I have been on a few hikes in my life, but our hike to Preacher’s Rock yesterday turned out to be more than just a hike; it was an unforgettable “Longterm” experience.
Preacher’s Rock is located on Big Cedar Mountain in North Georgia, near Suches. Situated 1 mile north of Woody Gap along the Appalachian Trail, this huge granite rock gives an unobstructed view of the surrounding mountains and valley below.
The tale is as follows: A preacher known as "Bear" Joe Lunsford, who stood 6 feet 6 inches tall, would hike to this location to practice his sermons. His voice was so powerful that it could be heard in the valley. Bear Joe was born in 1853 and lived until 1938.
Rendering Medical Assistance
The fun and camaraderie started as soon as we began arriving in the parking lot. I should have realized that this hike was going to be a different kind of hike when, immediately, a man in his 40s carrying a large backpack, with a gash above his left eye and slightly bleeding, approached me and said, “Can you help me out? I fell a while back on the trail and hit my head. I know I am bleeding, but I can’t see how bad it is; could you tell me if you think I need stitches?”
Because I had not yet obtained my MD degree, I could not give him a professional diagnosis, but it was fairly obvious that he would not need stitches. So I took a Band-Aid from my medical kit (backpack) and covered up the wound.
After talking with him for a few minutes and discovering that he was hiking the entire length of the Appalachian Trail, all the way to Maine, we said our goodbyes, and he took off up the mountain.
Meeting Someone From The Past
What happened next could only be described as God-orchestrated. About 20 minutes into our hike, after a particularly steep section, we stopped to rest. As we caught our breath, two women came up the trail. One of them said, “Luane?”Luane replied, “Donna?”
Everyone laughed. Donna and Luane were close friends who had served in ministry together for years. Donna and her friend “T” hiked with us for the rest of the way.
Although some of the rocks were slick because of the heavy rain the night before, the trail was amazingly dry; it took only about 30 minutes more for us to reach Preacher’s Rocks.
I Am Pretty Sure God Had A Smile On His Face
With all honor and respect to my Lord, this is where God showed up and showed out. As we stood in awe, Donna began to sing 'How Great Is Our Lord,' and immediately Jean went to her phone and found Chris Tomlin’s version of the song. They all began to sing and worship as we looked out over God’s creation (Check out the video below).
From there, it got even more God-ordained. One of the ladies asked if we could pray for some of our friends who were going through some very difficult times. On top of that rock, it was as if we were sitting at the foot of God’s thorn, as one after another we prayed for different people in our lives that needed a special touch from God.
It Wasn’t Satan
Wait, this God-sized experience didn’t stop there. As we were finishing up our prayers, I heard someone coming up the trail, and as they got close to where we were, I heard the man begin to laugh out loud. I have to admit the first thing that came to my mind was, “Where Jesus is working, Satan will always show up.” But it was the furthest thing from what happened next.
I stood up and began to approach the man with the intent of starting a friendly conversation when he reached out and shook my hand and said, “My trail name is Longterm, and as I was walking up here, I was praying when I heard and then saw all of you praying, and I knew it was a God thing.
A Once In A Life "Longterm" Experience
After a few minutes of getting to know each other, Longterm (See photo below) asked if he could share his story with us. He began to tell us how, as a veteran, he had been wounded and how, when he came back home, he fell into a deep state of depression and attempted suicide by shooting himself. He shared how God had different plans for his life and had given him a different outlook and purpose. After taking some pictures with him, and he taking some pictures with us, he continued on his trip to Maine.
Feeding Of The 5000
After hearing from Jesus while on the mount, like the 5000, when we were hungry. So we headed out to Shennagan’s, about 25 minutes south in Dahlonega. Although Jean was the only one who ate fish, we all had a good time as we capped off our “experience” at Preacher’s Rock.
You Got To See This
Just to confirm the story that people in the valley could hear "Bear" Joe preach, Linda and Louanne gave us their (almost) world-famous cow calls. No doubt you could hear these two in the valley below.
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