Many of us started something new during the initial pandemic lock down. Some people got a dog (no way, sorry!). Some realized they actually had nice neighbors. Some became full time teachers, with their kids home from school. For me, it was going on walks.
With everyone being home everyday now, I needed something different. Because I was going… well ya know, a little crazy. One morning I heard God say, “Walk with me.” And something in me knew this meant to actually physically go on walks. Ok, I thought. I can do that. That’s when prayer walks began. I didn’t just talk out loud to God the entire walk. Sometimes I did. Many times I’d just listen. Learning to listen to God all around me. Sometimes I would just tell him things I was thankful for the entire walk. And don’t get me wrong here, that’s not cuz I’m some super cheerful morning person. That was because I'm not a super cheerful morning person and I needed to focus on thankfulness to get my attitude in the right place. I started to really look forward to my walks with Jesus in the morning. I felt like He wanted me to imagine Him, right there walking beside me. Just like two friends, walking and talking. It quickly became a very sweet time.
After a few months of doing this, again, I heard God. “Sometimes we run,” He said. Ok woah woah woah, wait a minute. I mean I’d always been fairly active and worked out somewhat regularly. But RUN? Nope not my thing. Are you sure God? Maybe, this was more metaphorically and I didn’t need to take this one in the physical sense. I pondered it. I wrote it down. But, the next day when it came to my walk, I still walked. In the back of my mind, however, I was wrestling with this “Sometimes we run” thing. So, around the corner I went, and across the street. One of the neighbors, about 30 yards away, I saw out in his yard. I gave him a nice congenial smile, he smiled back. We’d never really spoken before, so I didn’t feel any obligation to talk at that time. However, he had something to say. As I came a bit closer, he shouted out at me from his yard, “Hey, shouldn’t you be runnin’?!”
Guys, I can’t make this stuff up! This is exactly what he said! No joke! I was completely hit on the inside, you know that feeling like you just got caught or found out? Except he had no idea what God had been speaking to me! I didn’t even know this guy’s name. But God chose to use him that day. So I smiled and gave a sort of courtesy chuckle, you know what I mean. And I kept walking. Then when I had just passed his house enough (to where he wouldn’t see me), I thought: Ok God, you got me… here we go.
That was the day I started to RUN. He did mean physically for me, because he needed to teach me something in the spiritual, and that was the best way to do it. When I began to run at the end of spring 2020, I had no idea what God had in store. By September of that year, I knew God was telling me to pick up the baton and start making music again. That first phone call to my producer had my stomach in knots. How am I going to do this?! So many questions and “what if’s”. But God just kept reminding me that I could do it because He’s right there beside me. I CAN run!!! Because HE is running WITH me.
