Photo of women walking provided by sweetlife.org.za via a free use license through unsplash.com
What’s next in your fitness journey? Maybe it’s a faster pace, a greater distance, … a new personal best? With God WHAT’S NEXT! can be a lot more. More friendships, more ministry, greater value, transformed lives – God’s purpose active in you. Your daily walks and your walk with God both shift into new opportunities when you walk with others. The physical activity will become more vibrant and the spiritual purpose will become more evident. Your walk with others reflects your walk with God.
WALKING THE WALK
It’s not a membership at the coolest gym around, but on the other hand walking is something you can do 24/7 with no out-of-pocket expense. Nope, no trainer or instructor is going to push you. You’ll set the pace and be solely responsible for the motivation. Maybe it’ll be on a sidewalk, a muddy or snowy trail, around the office or campus on lunch break or exploring a place where you’ve never been.
Walking is one of the most basic forms of exercise that most everyone can do. Get some good shoes, take a water bottle and your phone (for worship and praise music, a map route, safety and to photograph your walks), be thoughtful of safety considerations, know your physical needs, ability and limits and be sure to consistently journal or blog your walking experiences.
FROM LONER TO OWNER
If you’re like a lot of people, your walks are your personal solitary time. That space in your day where you carve time to be alone and away from others. Some use it as a time to listen to a podcast or music, organize thoughts, focus on the goal or simply take in the surrounding sites and sounds. Whatever the case – it is ‘alone’ and that’s a good thing. However, it can and should also be your way to be alone with God. When you do that you’ll discover the added benefits of monastic fitness.
As you grow in God it’s important to realize that walking alone equips you to own opportunities to walk with others. It’s biblical: If you enjoy the free gift of walking – give it away to others generously. You gain experience, confidence, routes and the ability to more easily and generously share with others the spiritual aspects of walking. Right now you have family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers, classmates and others who would benefit both physically and spiritually from walking. You can be the one to extend the invitation, cast the vision and be the support and encouragement they need to join you in the walk.
SIMPLE STEPS THAT GET YOU WALKING WITH OTHERS:
- Pray and seek God for wisdom, direction boldness and joy to walk with others.
- Make a list of people you can invite.
- Define the technical aspects like routes, frequency, duration, conversations – all the things that will make it go smoothly.
- Get the word out: Social media, texts and emails can communicate personal progress AND be a tool for extending the invitation.
AN IMPERFECT FRIEND
Hannah Cox, owner of The Glamper Salon in Tappahannock, Virginia has learned that to walk through life with others requires being, “willing to show my realness humbly.”
She shares, “So often, women want to know ‘how?’. How can I press on even when I’m tired? Feelings of inadequacies and comparisons slide in. That’s when, as friends, we step up and share our own feelings of shortcomings and take the opportunity to show others how, in spite of our own weaknesses, God has revealed His mighty strength.”
It’s important to realize that your walk with others has the power through God to help them move beyond their frustrations and fears of ‘What’s next?’ and take confident steps toward God’s goodness and provisions of His abundant ‘WHAT’S NEXT!’
Of her walk with others she says, “[Together] we realize that God has bigger and better plans, even in the small things. Women come to know that attaining God’s promises for their life are truly possible because they have seen God’s goodness in the lives of their imperfect friends.”
