“The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength in distress, and grows brave by reflection.” – Thomas Paine
Today I took a walk. Not just any walk, but a walk to clarify my thoughts, reconnect with nature, listen to the trees, adore the beauty that God created and breathe some fresh air.
I am not quite sure why turmoil is the thing that gets us to slow down and take note on what is really going on in our lives, but I am grateful for the moments and I have learned to appreciate the times when I am able to pull myself away from my daily routine and reflect nonetheless.
In these times I find myself becoming hypersensitive to not only what is currently happening, but also very reflective on the many unresolved situations that I have undergone. Yet at the same time, I recognize what I am specifically dealing with and nature has a way of soothing my mind, reminding me of true beauty, and the (often) many unresolved issues I am facing tend to resolve themselves in the wind, literally.
Today I took a walk. It was quite warm, so I took water, not only for my body, but for my soul. It was time to replenish my soul. I spied tree stumps that I have walked by countless times, but really saw for the very first time today. Their story spoke to me. Why were they cut down, yet still standing decades later? Will I still be standing in the next decade, and how will my story shape me? Or how will I shape my story? How will the unknowns enter my life and affect how I think, live and love? What will my testament be?
I do not clearly know the answers, but as I walked along the trails in the warm sun, I thought, (sometimes out loud) “I am still an unfinished work. A creation that God has destined and purposed for great things that are yet to be manifested.”
However, sometimes we forget, we lose sight and become easily frustrated with the pangs of life. You know, those situations (and people) that tend to get under our skin. Those things that easily beset us. Those things that come to try us, test us and confirm that we really believe what we verbally claim to be.
Today I took a walk. I was out for more than two hours, but the thoughts that encapsulated my mind were timeless. My childhood and adulthood stood front and center almost simultaneously. I recalled the scent of my room as a boy, as I listened to my mother speak lessons of life to me. Lessons that I desperately needed today. I thought about the landscape I was passing on my trail. It is the same, but different if you choose to look closely.
Some parts have changed, but the overall scene is the same. Some trees have grown taller, some have fallen to the ground. The grass is brown and then green, as life comes and goes. I am not the same man I use to be, know matter what others may claim. My life is ever-changing and God still has His hands on me. Guiding me in truth and purpose.
Today I took a walk. I started with many questions and returned with the answers I needed. My life is ever-changing with moments that I grasp and some I cannot. However somehow I am okay. Well more than okay. I know what I need to know, today. Tomorrow is another day, another time with its own portion of grace that I will receive then.
I will not be anxious. I will rest in what is now, even if “now” is far from what I desire. The grass grows, dies and then grows again. I am like the grass that I see on the trail. My life is not over. I have seeds still being planted by dead grass. I am he that continues. Like you, like us.
Today I took a walk. It was life changing. I spoke to my myself and listened to the eucalyptus trees speak in the wind. They indeed had a message for me. Peace, was the message and I received it. Day in and day out they stand, established by God. I can be like that tree that sets by streams of living water. I can be replenished when it is time. I just need to understand how, and equally understand it may look different then my neighbor.
Every trail has its own beauty and its own truth (if you will). Each are the same , but different. I can always learn something new if I choose to look closely.
Today I took a walk. I learned something new, and it was more about me than the trees and wonderful landscape, but I was grateful because this is the story that God chose to share with me exclusively. And He knew that I would be listening.
Keep Pressing,
Hank G