When I Took A Walk

Wednesday afternoon, I was angsty. A large chunk of the day I’d been on my phone, probably distracting myself from writing the post for this week. The longer I sat there, the more I felt discontent. I felt ashamed that I’d wasted that much time. But I also felt stuck. I wanted to get up, to do something productive, but I was comfortable scrolling. Eventually, I’d had enough. I set my phone down and started walking around my family’s property.

The act of walking wasn’t magical. But it seemed to do something magical for my heart and mind. I didn’t walk fast, and I didn’t run. I wasn’t trying to get exercise (even though that’s technically what was happening). As I walked, my eyes were open. My heart and mind were open. I noticed the blue and purple flowers blooming. I noticed the tiny acorns in the trees above. I noticed how green the grass looked. I noticed the blue sky and the clouds.

The worries and distractions from earlier seemed to disappear. I felt peaceful. I felt calm. I felt gratitude in my heart. I wish I would have talked to God right then and not waited to thank Him for the blessings He has given me until later in the day. But I wonder if maybe that was a time that I didn’t have to use words…

Metaphorically, I’m often looking down. I’m drowning in the Waters of Worry or trudging through the mud of daily tasks or distractions. But I forget that there’s more to life. I forget to look up once in a while. I forget that I live in a beautiful world God created, and that He gave me the ability to find joy in things. I forget He created lovely human beings that I can do life with and enjoy being with. I forget to be still and know that I serve a powerful, loving, Heavenly Father. I forget to worship and praise Him, not just for the things that He gives me, but even more for who He is, because He deserves more praise and honor than I could ever give Him.

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” – Psalm 19:1

Not that we’re in competition with the rest of creation, especially since we’re the only part of creation that God created in HIS image, but I don’t want to leave all the praising to the rocks, trees, sky and ocean. Hard things happen and I can get discouraged, but God has proven His faithfulness and love and grace to me more than I even realize. I want to show Him my thankfulness and gratitude for that. I want to share who He has been to me with the world so they can come to know Him and have a personal relationship with Him too.

The walk I took didn’t just clear my mind and calm my racing thoughts. It seemed to be a second chance at the day, a clean slate. I often make myself think that if I don’t start out the day with chores or work and continue at the same pace throughout the day, then the day isn’t worth living. But that’s not true. God allows rest. But He also gives 86,400 new chances every single day. That’s how many seconds are in a 24-hour day. I understand that (hopefully at least) we’re sleeping through some of those hours. But again, we were made to need sleep and rest. :)

It's crazy to think about how many second chances that is. And I wonder if it will help my mindset when I feel like I’ve gone too far, not spent much time with Jesus, or when I’m stuck in distractions. It brings a different perspective that I haven’t thought about before.

What helps you refocus when you’ve gotten comfortable in distractions?

✌🏼& ♥️,

Hannah