Lake Fellowship member Sam Devine will share the story of how he and his two sons walked from their home in Minneapolis to their family's land in Pennington, and how a lighthearted joke turned into a serious fundraiser with a meaningful journey.
From Sam: When my two boys were younger, around 10 and 12, I made a comment while driving to our land north of Cass Lake that I might someday like to walk from our home to the land. The total distance is around 240 miles. The boys, being forced to be present with me in the truck as we drove and talked about life, took it to heart. I was in the practice of disallowing the use of devices for at least half of the drive at that point. I wanted to communicate with them and for them to absorb the view out the window as I had as a child.
Years later they held me to that adventurous comment. Over the course of two MEA weekends in 2023 and 2024 we managed to walk the entire distance. It would not have been possible without the help of my mother and several friends and family along the way- but mostly mom.
It would not surprise me to find out that those 18 days of walking amount to the most time any father has spent with their teenage boys in the past several hundred years. We couldn't escape each other, and we spent much of our time being very present with each other, despite the distraction of texts with girls. Since our theme is presence, I will share my thoughts on what that means to me and how the warmth of walking mile after mile with these two very independent young men filled me with what I imagine is the bittersweet lament of all parents- I am here with you and I love you, yet I must face the fact that change is ever-present and we will never be here again. Every moment carries with it the most crushing beauty, hope filled exuberance, fear, joy, and love. Every moment is sort of everything all at once.
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