Walking Lessons - January 17,
2001
I would venture to guess that most of you reading this
don't remember learning to walk. For as long as you can
remember it has been second nature to you. Age may be
taking it's toll and walking isn't as easy as it once
was, but I'm talking about starting from scratch like a
baby. Pam and I have had a unique opportunity since our
accident, Pam is learning to walk again. She started from
nothing and each week she is getting a little better at
it. I was with her in therapy one of the first times she
tried to walk. She held on to the parallel bars and while
two people helped her stand up another would move her
feet forward a few inches at a time. With much practice
and guidance from her therapists she progressed to using
a walker. At first each step was tremendous effort as she
would put her weight on her hands while shuffling her
feet slowly forward. Over time she went from walking a
few steps to 200 feet at one time. When she started using
the walker at home I would have to go along beside her in
case she lost her balance and toppled to the floor. Now
she is getting around the house with the walker without
me even watching, and in therapy she is starting to walk
using only someone's hand for balance. We believe that as
God continues to heal her, Pam will one day walk without
any assistance at all. We non-injured folk take walking
for granted and it has been an amazing experience
watching Pam learn to walk again.
There is one type of walking we all have to learn and
practice daily ... our Christian walk. When we were baby
Christians, we had to start from scratch. Do you remember
when you started reading the Bible? Did huge parts of it
seem like a foreign language that went right over your
head? Then with the help of therapy in the form of
sermons and Bible studies you took your first baby steps.
The more you practice the easier walking becomes, not
that we all don't stumble from time to time.
Unfortunately, many Christians never move beyond the
toddler stage. They are like a two year old who never
experiences the exhilaration of wind whipping through
your hair while bounding at top speed down a hillside.
Can you imagine an able bodied adult who has never grown
beyond baby steps? What a waste. And yet how many able
minded adults have never crawled out of their Christian
cradle?
How's your walking coming? Pam can tell you that the
only hope she has of healthy walking is by practicing and
working at it every day. There is no shortcut, it takes
work, but the end result is definitely worthwhile.
Besides, one day when you look up and see Jesus waiting
with open arms to welcome you home, do you want to run to
Him or just crawl?
