I love to walk. It probably stems in part from the fact that growing up my family would regularly go for a walk. Yep, we did that for fun. We walked in the sun, the snow, by the light of the moon, in storms. Nothing stopped us from a good walk.

Last summer I had an entire day free and so I decided to get up, pack a backpack with water and a snack and see how far I could just walk. It was a particularly hot and humid day -I only made it 9 miles before I called my husband Charles and asked him to come to pick me up.

Walking, for me, is a form of solitude and silence. Even as an extrovert, I have learned that my soul desperately needs the regular rhythm of silence and solitude, and walking helps me to experience it in a way that I don’t when I just sit in silence and solitude.

When I sit in silence and solitude, my mind tends to scan through my to-do lists, my anxieties and concerns and whatever else flits across my mind. But when I walk, that’s when my soul centers down into the deep reservoir, the flow, from within. Walking is the time and place I experience wonder, sacredness and a sense of the Divine with me each step of the way. Walking is how I best hear the voice of God.

I also enjoy walking for the sheer enjoyment of being out in nature, seeing things, observing, listening and noticing.

So here are a few pictures from my walk today:

Usually at 7:30 in the morning, there are cars, busses, kids and parents everywhere. Even though the yellow light warns drivers to slow down for the school zone, there’s not a soul in sight except for the police car in the lot.

If you use the Vivid setting in photo editing, which I UNAPOLOGETICALLY did, the green in this scene became more evident. I needed to see some green on the trees, signs of spring, hope, and new life. So there it is. Even if it is a bit forced.

This is strange. But everything is strange these days, so why was I surprised when I felt my heart leap a little bit at seeing the future date for the Maple City Walk on this sign?

During a time when so many things are getting canceled or postponed, it brought me a measure of joy to think that by the time September 19th comes around, we will hopefully be through all of this and life will have gone on. We will all walk together again on September 19th.

The little things are the big things sometimes. I didn’t expect this restroom in Shanklin Park to be open, but it was, and I really needed it by then. And, it was CLEAN and smelled very well sanitized! Thanks, Goshen Parks and Recreation!

This friendly older man sporting a white pith helmet-like hat was carrying a clipboard in one hand and a pen in another. He smiled and nodded my way as he passed by, a good distance from me of course. I wondered what he was up to until I saw a bird fly in front of him and then the man made a mark on his clipboard. I assume he was counting birds. People do that kind of thing, you know. Or maybe he was counting humans and he counted me as a rare sighting. Who knows.

The pandemic is never far from my mind, even as I enjoy the sky, the birds and the early signs of spring. Today as I walked I carried the weight of our son serving in Uganda with two others, unable to get home because the borders and the airport were shut before they had a chance to get out. My walk was as much about silence and solitude as it was about lifting deep prayers for him and the others, prayers that I don’t even have words for.

I listened to this song on repeat for half of the walk. The words brought peace and comfort to my soul:

Prince of Peace by Hillsong.

I encourage you to listen to the whole song, but these words, in particular, are speaking to me these days:

Your love surrounds me when my thoughts wage war
When night screams terror, there Your voice will roar
Come death or shadow, God I know Your light will meet me there.

When fear comes knocking, there You’ll be my guard

When day breeds trouble, there You’ll hold my heart

Come storm or battle, God I know Your peace will meet me there.

What about you? What settles your soul and/ or is something you do that helps to center you and keep you grounded? Leave a comment! And thanks for joining me on my walk today by reading this far.