I’ve been talking on and off about my word for 2015. Walk. I confess, I feel like a complete failure when it comes to the physical action. I’m a little more active than I was, but I still haven’t nailed down a regular habit.
Which made me think of 3 things that keep me from walking. Both the physical kind and the spiritual kind.
1. Fear
Okay, what could make me afraid to walk physically? Well … I do have some things in my past that make me nervous to walk alone. My mom was kidnapped by knife point when I was in high school. A terrifying situation that is never far from my thoughts when I’m alone. For that reason and others, I never really did the stroller thing.
Connect my history to my murder-writing imagination, and there’s reason for anxiety. Unfortunately, it makes a good excuse to stay home.
But what about spiritually? Can fears hinder us from taking steps that the Spirit is urging us to take? Absolutely!
Recently, I made a decision to bow out of a group. I knew the Lord wanted me to, but I didn’t want to make anyone angry or hurt any feelings. I set a date to take action on the matter and prayed about it for a couple of months beforehand.
Yet, I let the date pass. The Lord convicted me on that one! When I did finally make the break, the whole thing was such a blessing. Such a great experience. Oh, and the timing was PERFECT! If I’d procrastinated longer it would have made all sorts of problems!
2. Comfort
This is a biggie. When I gave up my office to allow my twins to have their own rooms, I “moved” into a recliner. (The sacrifices we moms will make. LOL!) As I write to you, my feet are propped up, a silent baseball game is on the TV in front of me to give me a spot to let my eyes roam from time to time, and an overhead fan is keeping me cool. Oh, and a tall glass of diet green tea with mint sits at my fingertips.
Who needs the Caribbean? I can put an ocean sound on my iPad (or better yet, a thunderstorm!) Why would I want to get sweaty and stinky and tired when I can stay here and get so much done in sheer luxury?
Isn’t this the same issue spiritually? We like where we are. We don’t want change. It’s uncomfortable and awkward. Unsettling. And it takes so much effort to speak to people about my faith/get to know strangers/find a new place to worship/expose my vulnerabilities to my kids or people who need to hear my story.
Yeah, this is a big hindrance to the walk.
3. Busyness
That’s what I’m feeling right now. Why this blog post wasn’t up at midnight when it normally is. My schedule changed over the past few weeks as I promoted my books. That’s part of life, but I can’t allow it to change my spiritual walk. I still must spend time with my Lord in prayer and Bible study. That’s the daily faith exercise that keeps me close to Him. I feel it when I miss a day. And in busy times like this, I can miss several in a row and not even realize they’ve passed.
But then I’ll get a song in my head. Sounds goofy, but I usually have a worship soundtrack running through my head at all times. When the songs turns to oldies pop music, I know I’ve not set my mind on the things of God. And I realize that I’ve let days pass without reading His word. I’ll even find I’m praying less.
Your turn: Which issue causes you the most stutter steps in your walk of faith? (Or your physical exercise?)
Marji Laine 