Walk, Don't Run!

 

            Last December, I broke my foot.  While it wasn’t too painful, the boot I had to wear limited my mobility.  As soon as the doctor gave the okay, I began walking.  Since then, I’ve walked 6, sometimes 7 days a week.  Most days I enjoy walking through my neighborhood, even though there are hills that challenge both my stamina and my knees.

            On the good days, I long for my younger days when I enjoyed playing softball and basketball, almost more than I enjoyed eating—almost!  My mind tries to tell me I can still do all that today.  Then, I remember following that logic is what gave me a broken foot, so I stick with walking. 

            When you pause to think about it, there’s nothing wrong with walking.  My neighborhood walks have enabled me to meet neighbors that I didn’t know before.  I’ve watched the beauty of the changing seasons and I’ve seen lots of dogs—big and small.  Too often, we are in a hurry, running from here to there, trying to finish so many projects that we can’t take the time to stop and “smell the roses.”  While there are times when we all must run a marathon, I think we get stuck in that “running” mode.  There is so much more for us to experience when we walk. 

            Jesus didn’t “run” through Israel trying to minister to the people.  He walked with His disciples, sometimes taking a less common route just so He could meet people like the woman at the well.  He had significant teaching moments with His disciples as they walked from place to place.  He touched the lives of people He would not have met if He had run through their town. 

            In Ephesians, Paul tells us to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling” (Ephesians 4: 1 ESV).  He also challenges us to “walk in love” (Ephesians 5: 2 ESV) and to “look carefully then how you walk” (Ephesians 5: 15).  Our walk with Christ is a growth process.  My first few weeks of walking awakened muscles I had forgotten that I had.  I had to work those muscles, consistently and slowly, for them to be strengthened.  In the same way, we must be consistent in our relationship with Christ if we are to grow deeper. 

            There will be times when life will feel like you are running a marathon.  Don’t let those times overwhelm you.  Slow down and walk for a season.  I think you’ll find that your Spiritual growth will be more intense and probably more consistent.  It takes time to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling.”  We may not completely achieve that in this lifetime, but unless we begin the “walk” we’ll never know. 

Ephesians 4: 1