Today I am going to walk. I am blessed to have legs that work and without even thinking about it, I am going to walk around the house getting needs met. I am going to walk out to the car and walk to the office where I serve. Later, I am going to walk around the supermarket and in the course of the day, will probably clock up many steps without being mindful of it.
I haven’t thought a lot about how to physically walk with purpose until last year when I took up a challenge and commenced a deliberate walking plan. (Four months in and I am on target to walk 1,000 kilometres in a year – and it feels good!)
The deliberate walking I do invigorates me, and now that I have started, I am frustrated when I cannot complete my goals for some reason. The weather is often an obstacle that I have to push through, but also circumstances can change my plans, and even my ability to walk, in just a moment.
For instance, over the Christmas holiday period when I expected to put a lot of time into walking, a nasty leg abscess stopped me in my tracks. I am very thankful to be able to walk again and still have a healthy leg – I don’t want to take my ability to walk for granted ever again!
When I am walking with intention, I take a gift of time away from other pressures and this provides me with the opportunity to purposefully think and pray through heartfelt concerns and needs. In light of my recent setback, I have been pondering what it means to walk through life with purpose, especially when walking means painfully stirring up debilitating wounds.
The Bible talks a lot about walking… walking in the light; walking in love; walking in truth; walking with God; walking on mountains and through valleys, etc. (Please feel free to take a deeper look at some of the ‘walking’ passages for yourself that I have added to the end of this blog.)
So, the idea of walking this journey in life is not a new concept but the whole idea of how I can choose to BE an intentional walker is a growing one to me 🙂
The fact that we woke up breathing in this world this morning means that we have been given the gift to walk through another day. The choice that lies before us then is this: ‘How am I going to walk through this day in a way that will bring life and purpose to me and to others around me?’
Without thinking about it, many of us will run flat out into a day that contains too many things to squeeze in. Without mindful, healthy decisions, many of us are going to stagger around lost and lonely under the weight of grief and pain.
Without thinking it through and being intentional, sadly many of us are going to choose a path of destruction, instead of redemption, in the midst of our circumstances.
What I am talking about here is a journey with intention… walked out step by step with Jesus in the direction towards eternal life with Him!
After seven years of grieving our brown-eyed-beauty, one thing I have learned is that if I don’t make some deliberate choices about how I am going to ‘walk through the day’ and live my life journey, I tend to stumble around in circles and end up in a heap on the ground! Another thing I am coming to accept (and even beginning to embrace) is that the pain of the trauma and separation are not going to leave me in this life – this is all is part of who I am as a human being walking this earth and I have been asked by the One I love to do so alongside others who are broken and suffering in pain.
Our dear Bethany could not physically walk for the last year of her life, but she chose to ‘walk’ the pathway Home with honour and courage. With her head held high as a daughter of the King, she took the hand of her closest companion and filled her backpack with faith, hope and love. She placed the shoes of peace on her crippled feet and moved toward her ultimate destination with purpose.
Friends, there is no doubt that our life journey will be a mix of pain and rest, challenges and joys, purposeful choices and missteps whatever path we choose. Thank God that while we may not have a choice in our life circumstances, we do have the choice to BE Intentional Walkers! I pray today that you will ‘tie up your laces’ with me, stretch those ‘faith muscles’ and set your sights on the same path chosen by and paved by the Saviour and start walking – rain, hail or shine! Redemption Road may be a narrow path that few choose, but it leads to LIFE!
Choose the right path…
…Choose the right companions…
…Choose the right equipment…
…Choose to take one step at a time… and don’t forget to…
Choose to absorb the view, taste the feast and smell the roses along the Way!
The process of the journey is preparing us for the eternal destination!
Climbing Higher…
God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. So here are 20 truths to guide us through our intentional walking, especially when the going gets tough!
*Walk humbly with God! (Micah 6:8)
*Walk with Jesus! (John 8:12)
*Walk with the Holy Spirit! (Galatians 5:16-26)
*Walk with godly companions! (Psalm 101:6)
*Walk in obedience! (Deut 8:6; John 14:15)
*Walk in holiness (Isaiah 35:8)
*Walk in the Light! (1 John 1:6-7)
*Walk lightly! (Matthew 11:28)
*Walk without grumbling in the wilderness! (Numbers 14:2-4)
*Walk in thanksgiving! (Psalm 100:4; Colossians 2:6-7)
*Walk in peace! (Colossians 3:15)
*Walk in Truth! (John 16:13; 2 John 1:4)
*Walk in paths of righteousness! (Psalm 16:11; Proverbs 8:20)
*Walk in faith! (2 Corinthians 5:7)
*Walk in love! (Ephesians 5:2)
*Walk on water! (Matthew 14:22-33)
*Walk in praise! (Act 3:8-9)
*Walk with no fear! (Psalm 23; Isaiah 43:1-2)
*Walk in a manner worthing of our calling! (Ephesians 4; 2 Thess. 11-12)
*Walk for the glory of God! (Isaiah 26:8)
THANKS FOR WALKING WITH ME!