Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Practical Joy -- Day 18 of Advent


One word and image kept popping up in my mind as I read Frank Laubach's letters, as I thought of the journey of the shepherds, as I watch my granddaughters move Mary and Joseph ever closer to their destination -- "Walking." With that word and image, I decided to write a practical post today. When we say "practical," we often mean "useful, get it done, activities." I hope my previous posts have been useful, but they have tended to focus on my goals or my attitude -- what I choose to think upon. I want to use the simpler definition of practical -- "of or pertaining to practice or action" -- in this case the action of walking, of slowing down…Oops! Maybe I should not have written that last phrase. We are busily trying to finish up whatever we need to finish up before Christmas Day arrives. All Mary and Joseph had to do was walk to Bethlehem, nine months pregnant no less.


There's something about walking that is good for the heart, both the physical heart and the emotional heart. I don't mean the kind of power walking that is really running but keeping legs fairly straight, feet on the ground so that one can be first in line without the teacher yelling, "No running!" Or, so that one can be first to the checkout stand. Yesterday I was in an "everything you can think of to buy" store, and the lines were long and getting longer. A checkout stand opened up, and the man standing in the line next to me said to me, "Go ahead. I'm retired. I can wait." At that moment about 15 people (with their carts) started rushing to get to the open stand. I replied, "You know, I've found out that I'm in a much better mood if I just be patient." I don't need to move at the pace of a snail, but whenever I find my heart racing and my mood turning sour, I know that I need to slow down my pace.


The picture above shows where I normally walk around a small local lake. The lake is not full right now; in fact, currently I walk around a dry lake bed. Still, just getting out to walk brings back peace and joy into my life. When I had four children underfoot at home, I could still get out by way of backpacks and strollers to walk around the block. In Russia, it was a joy to walk the little ones around the block.


I have no night time walking pictures to show you, so you will have to imagine Mary and Joseph who are often shown walking at night, and the shepherds hurrying off to Bethlehem after their night time wake up call by the angels (but, honestly, how fast can one walk with sheep -- fast, but surely not running), and Frank Laubach as he walks and talks with God in the cool of the evening.

"I have just returned from a walk alone, a walk so wonderful that I feel like reducing it to a universal rule, that all people ought to take a walk every evening all alone where they can talk aloud without being heard by anyone, and that during this entire walk they all ought to talk with God, allowing Him to use their tongue to talk back -- and letting God do most of the talking" (22 June 1930).

As a teacher of high schoolers, my mind automatically runs to the "but, Mrs. Lang…" comments. So, if you are unable to walk, can someone get you outside to sit? Can you look out a window? If you are bed-ridden, you are reading this on a computer; therefore, take a virtual walk or a walk within your memories as you listen to beautiful music. If I can (computer illiterate that I am), I will include a link to a beautiful song with piano and cello. Joy comes as we practice it.

Additional note: I could not figure out how to put the link within this post. However, I somehow managed to give it a post of its own, which will either be before this post or after it. (I choose joy…and will keep working with gaining more computer skills :D)

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