Reflections: Keep Walking

“If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, 

eventually you’ll make progress.”  

Barack Obama

Picture by R. Guy

It has almost been one year since I started writing Peace and Praise. Throughout that time, this has become an opportunity to explore my relationships with God and the world around me.  I have learned that it is sometimes easier to encourage others than to encourage yourself.  I have learned that sometimes what you need to hear for yourself is what others also need.  Sometimes you minister to others by ministering to yourself.  I also find it hard to believe that the most popular posts have been about butterflies, dryers and my reflections, proof of the fact that there is always interest in the personal story.

The other thing I learned is that as much as I love to write, it has been hard to know the responsibility of churning out posts is on my shoulders.  This is its own blessing and curse. There are many partial posts that lay in the abyss of my computer, never seeing the light of day.  There are some ideas that bob around in my head, even to this day, that I still have no clue how to write.  Peace and Praise has not always worked out the way I thought it should, but it is the one thing to which I return.

I believe that our spirituality is similar to this.  We never know how much our own explorations and journeys are perhaps the gateway for others to embrace their space and place.  We have to work very hard to remain consistent in our walk because, at times, it is so easy to convince ourselves that we do not need to complete it.  I often pondered whether I should write that post, or if no one will miss it if it is not sent (of course, one check of the blog traffic counter proves otherwise).  It is then we realize simply that we are far more connected to the world around us than we originally considered.

Bottom line, on our walk – whether spiritual, personal, emotional, career-wise – the road will get rocky.  We come across a few stones, a pot hole, a detour sign; if the walk is still worth it, we will kick it out the way, move around the inconsistency in the path and maneuver so that our sights are never too far from the goal.   “You shall walk in all the ways that the Lord your God has commanded you, that they may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess” (Deuteronomy 5:33).  Nothing is so strong, so critical, that it shakes the importance of the continuing the walk.

As year one is rapidly coming to a close, with the coming of Advent and the New Year Calendar year, I am instituting a vow to deposit more positively into myself and everyone in my surroundings.   This does not mean that there will not be bumps – personalities do remain as they are – but there will be a change in the approach.  I invite each of you to consider this vow, remembering the importance of your walk so that it deepens, you never forget the reason you are there in the first place.