Honey, let’s go for a walk
That thought has drifted through my head at least once a week for the past 6 months – which happens to be the last time me and my wife Julie went for a walk. This morning it drifted through again. I reached up, grabbed it, and then hung on to it. While I was holding it captive, I proceeded to make an analysis if this is a good day for walk.
- Was it cloudy out? No – a little hazy
- Was it warm out? No – it was 20 degrees
- Was it windy out? No – it was relatively calm
- Did I feel like it? No – this isn’t unusual
- Do I need the exercise? Yes – 30 minutes a day goes a long way
Conclusion? Inconclusive evidence. By this time, I was sick enough of not getting out for a simple 30-minute walk, that I got up and asked Julie if she wanted to go for a walk. She said, “Sure!” Alright then! We were committed.
We got ready and set out. The air was crisp and the slight breeze quickly froze my cheeks (on my face). As we were walking, we started talking and the cold was quickly forgotten. Nothing earth-shattering or urgent, just nice casual conversation. This is one of the best by-products of getting out into another atmosphere with your spouse. Conversation happens much easier.
We are a 5-minute walk from a county park, so we headed in that direction. Within 10 minutes, we were walking along the Mississippi River. It seems like you enter another world. We were shaking our heads and asking why we don’t do this more often. It was absolutely beautiful outside. Yes, it might have been cold and winter-like (after all, it is December), but it completely recharges your batteries.
Therein lies the issue. If you know all the benefits, why don’t you do those things more often? Why are we ruled so much by our feelings. It’s ridiculous! I knew before we left that I would be happier, more healthy, and feeling better when we got home. But still, it was SIX months—the whole summer—since we took a walk! Arg!
Alright, a change is in order. If I made all my decisions on whether I “felt like it” or not, I wouldn’t do anything. Criminy! I need to move over into what the results would bring if I did what I was contemplating. I am not taking on the world, just this one thing. Thirty minutes of walking a day… outside and with Julie as much as possible. Alright, my sails are set. It says in James 2:17 “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” It is time that my faith mixes with the movement of my legs, and work with the Lord to accomplish those I couldn’t accomplish on my own.
Are You Moved?
A couple of weeks ago, I had heard some unexpected negative news concerning our Senior Pastor’s health. It was hard to believe. Here is a man who has instilled such great faith in all of his congregation. He is a military man, a rock, and a fighter. With all that he has taught and imparted to us about health and healing, it was stunning. Hello? How could this man, our pastor, be fighting something like this? Well, the fight of your faith commences.
My mom passed away a year and a half ago after battling cancer. She never gave up hope. She was believing for her healing up to the end. So, if she had such great faith and passed away, and now your senior pastor has a health related issue, what are you suppose to think.
So this week, our pastor was going to take some time away to aggressively treat it. Then the news last night, after preliminary testing to determine his treatment, they can’t find anything. Um, what? Nothing? Clean bill of health? Yes, that’s the deal! Great News! God gets all the glory!
So now where is my faith? Do I add up all the people with great faith that didn’t make it and all of the ones that did? I guess I am at 50/50 then. Is that what we are suppose to do?
I don’t think so. We are not suppose to be moved by circumstance. The “news” on the economy is not good. Should I be moved? So and so had a strong marriage and now they are getting a divorce, should I be concerned? My father in-law committed suicide at 50, does this mean our family is cursed?
If my eyes were on other people or circumstances for my faith, I would be toast. That is not your gauge. Some people disappoint, some people are great examples. Circumstances are always in flux. The only true measure is the hope and promise that can only be found in His word. That is your measuring stick. By keeping my eyes on the what He has to say, I find myself breezing through those stormy days. I find myself more grounded and less likely to be blown off course. So, may you find yourself relying on His promises as you navigates the waters of your life.