“The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you;
He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV
I have walked many miles on my journey, both literally and figuratively. One thing I know for sure is that I haven’t walked alone. The Lord has walked every step with me. There have been times when I didn’t know if I could put one foot in front of the other, but He has walked with me and has helped me to keep going.
I see many people when I go for walks, but
today I was very inspired by two people I saw on the walking trail. An older gentleman and his young adult
daughter (I assume they were related) were already walking on the trail as I
started. He was pushing a wheelchair and
she was walking next to him. The young
adult wore a brace on one of her legs.
They were walking very slowly. I
politely passed them and kept walking. I
walked one lap and as I made it back around to where I had first seen them, I
wondered if they were still walking. I
was very intrigued and inspired by these two.
As I kept walking, I looked and saw them
up ahead. They had walked about a ¼ of a
mile. I watched as the man walked right
next to the young adult. He didn’t get
ahead of her or lag behind her; he walked right beside her. I kept my pace steady and watched them. I had my headphones on listening to my praise
and worship music. The song that I was
listening to had a line in it that said, “He walks with me…” I smiled as I heard it and watched this man
walk with who I thought must have been his daughter. He was walking with her.
Suddenly, they stopped, and the girl sat
down in the wheelchair. I didn’t know
them, didn’t know her story. Was she in an accident and having to learn to walk again or having to do therapy to regain
strength in her leg? Was she born with
something that caused her to have a hard time walking? Did her leg hurt with every step she took? These questions swirled through my mind. Even though I didn’t know them, I was very
proud of her for walking and touched by the love, patience, kindness, gentleness,
compassion, and care the man had for his daughter as he walked with her.
They turned around and started walking in
my direction. Anybody who knows me,
knows that I had to say something. I
love hearing people’s stories…their life journeys. As much as I wanted to engage them in
conversation and find out more, I simply took my headphones off and as they
came closer, said, “I just want you to know that you did a good job
walking!” I didn’t say as much as I
wanted, but I had to say something.
Everyone needs encouragement on their journey!
I continued walking, turning back to look
at them once more. He was pushing her in
the wheelchair, but he was still walking with
her. What an awesome picture of my
Heavenly Daddy! He knows me, knows my
story. He has walked with me through all
of my hurts. When I have had a hard time
walking and had to walk slowly, crawl even, He has been right here with me,
just like this man with his daughter. He
has not rushed me or scolded me for having to go slow. He has walked right with me, encouraging me every
step of the way. He has shown me love,
patience, kindness, gentleness, compassion, and care. No matter how long it has taken, He has
stayed right with me. When I have gotten
tired or weak, He has let me sit down and rest, just like the girl sat down in
her wheelchair. He was still walking with me.
Sometimes, on my journey, it feels as
though I have only walked ¼ of a mile like the girl, but every step of that ¼ mile
got me further on my journey than I had been before. Every step on my journey means something and
has value, just like every step she took.
God knows me, knows my story. He
knows what I have been through, am going through now, and will go through. Every
step, no matter the pain, how hard, or how slow, is worth it, knowing He walks with
me.
Written by Heather H. McDevitt
