Trouble Walking n Talking?

Lately it’s been difficult to walk. I woke up a week ago with a very sore left hip. It just so happened to be the first day of our 1^st Annual Walk n Talk Across Michigan to Stop Abuse. We met at the Capitol in Lansing, where I hobbled around painfully to do what I had went there to do—RAISE AWARENESS to STOP ABUSE and BULLYING of People & Pets. Thankfully, even despite the droplets of rain, the event went well, victims were honored, news crews were on site, we were able to minister to a woman and her two small children, and it was an awesome time of taking back what I feel has been stolen from our country, our freedom as Christians to STAND & SPEAK OUT for the HEALING that only God can bring!

Standing and speaking is about all I’ve been able to do in the past week. I’ve hobbled and limped far more than I’ve walked, believe me. But as I’ve dealt with this thorn in my flesh and hinderence to this mission God has called me to, I realize that sometimes our walking is way out of balance. I used to work out for an hour every morning and then walk for 3-5 miles, usually 1-2 hours per day. The rest of my day I spent very BUSY on the computer, phone, training volunteers, teaching, and doing the zillion other things a person who heads up two non-profits has to do. Not an easy task. But as a leader, I too set the pace for everything that gets accomplished. If I’m moving too slow, not much gets done. If I’m moving too fast, then we might get some things done, but because we’re hurrying and stressed, we make more mistakes. So we need to be moving ahead at just the right pace.

I believe that is the lesson God wanted me to learn this past week “pacing myself”. Last weekend when we went to the parks in Jackson and Kalamazoo I could barely walk, in fact, I sat most of the time and just ministered to women and children as they came to me. But I was obedient to “go” and that is the important part; that we go when God tells us, he’s not concerned about how fast we’re moving, just that we are. This is proof that God will use us just as we are, as limited as that may be, as long as we’re walking with Him.

Quite honestly in the past, I’ve probably gotten ahead of Him sometimes. I’ve probably even ran ahead, in the wrong direction. Maybe that’s why he felt the need to slow me down.

I’ve only taken two short walks this week. The first walk was a couple days ago, just a half mile, and took nearly 30 minutes. The other was this morning, I walked an entire mile at a VERY SLOW PACE, (my dogs even kept looking at me funny, like who put something in your cereal?), and it took me an hour. But as I’ve slowed down, I’ve learned that before I was probably rushing through every walk, every work out, every bike ride, every phone conversation, every prayer, every scripture, every intimate moment, every divine appointment, etc, so I could get to the next thing. In essence what I was doing is becoming a Martha, Martha, Martha – just simply doing a work God had called me to “walking and talking” instead of being more like Mary, who is in total synch with Jesus and follows his every step.

Noah and Enoch walked with God. Noah walked so closely with God that he was obedient, even though he was persecuted and made fun of every day, and God rewarded him greatly. When everyone else in the world was destroyed, him and his family were spared! Hallelujah! And Enoch, he walked so closely with God that one day God just took him up to heaven—he never saw death—he was transformed right there. Wow!

So I’ve decided on this walk, I want to be like Noah and Enoch. Just like them, I want God to transform me (my heart and mind to have a unique FAITH like theirs) so that I’m walking and talking at just the right pace, so that HE can transform others as we Walk n Talk Across Michigan to Stop Abuse & bring healing to all!

For more information about our 1^st Walk n Talk Across Michigan to Stop Abuse of People & Pets, please log onto www.abusebites.com