I feel a little like Mr. Rogers when I’m getting ready to walk.  Remember the beginning of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood?  He walked in the door singing, went to the closet to take off his jacket and put on his sweater, sat down on the bench where his tennis shoes were neatly waiting, took off his loafers and put on his tennis shoes and finished up with neatly tied laces all timed perfectly with the ending of the song!  These same steps were repeated every day! 

It’s not quite that many steps when I start to go walking, but I do have my favorite pair of shorts and shirt that I change in to every night, and I have to grab my portable CD player, put an extra set of batteries in my pocket and do my warm up stretches.  Then it’s time to head out the door.

There are only a couple of people I see out at night when I’m walking.  There are the two elderly ladies who stroll around the block a few times.  By the time I start walking, they are usually on their last lap and I may pass them several times as they stand in their driveway just chatting.  There is the occassional person out walking their dog.  And then a few months ago, a guy started walking the block.  He was walking really slow when I first saw him.  I would guess that he had recently had surgery and perhaps been told to get some walking exercise in.  Over the last few weeks, his pace has picked up.  But he still walks a lot slower than I do.  I have this “speed walking” pace that I do.  It’s just what works for me and feels comfortable.  I figure if I’m going to be out walking, I might as well make it count.  

I love walking……but I hate passing people by.  There is just something weird about walking and seeing someone else up ahead and then slowly the gap closes and before I know it, I’m passing them by.  It just feels kind of rude to walk beside someone for a couple of strides and then keep going.  I feel like I ought to slow down for a little bit and just chat.  But of course, I don’t know these people, so I keep going.  And besides, I have three miles to finish and I don’t need someone else slowing me down.

I was thinking about that last night when I was walking.  I was thinking about our Christian journey and how we are all walking this road together…..some slower than others.  Maybe my pace is faster than yours……maybe I’m in too much of a hurry to notice what is slowing you down……so I pass you by.  But what if all you needed was some encouragement?  What if you just needed me to slow down a little and match your stride?  We could talk and chat about what is happening in our lives.  We could share each others burdens and pray to gain strength on this journey.  Before we knew it, maybe we had picked up the pace a little……you were walking faster than you thought you could.  After all, the miles don’t seem so long or so hard when you have someone else to share them.

I think about Jesus and how He was the greatest example of this.  After all, he slowed down long enough to let twelve guys join him for a while.  And for the rest of their lives they tried to follow His steps. Turns out it is a pretty good path to walk on.