Learning to Walk

A couple months ago I was reading through Psalm 31, and when I got to verse 8, God brought a memory from my childhood back to the forefront of my mind. The verse says, “you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place,” and all of a sudden I was 5 years old, wrapped up in as many layers of gloves, coats, hats, scarves, and socks as my tiny body could handle and following my dad out into the winter night. A huge snow storm had just come through Indiana, covering the ground in at least a foot of snow, and my dad woke me up so I could run around in the pristine winter wonderland (how fun is he, right?!).

My 6’5” dad led me out into the snow, but I could barely move. A foot of snow on my dad barely touched his shins, while that same foot of snow came up to my knees. After watching me struggle for a second, he came up with a game plan - he would walk in front of me and create a path with his boots, and all I had to do was step in the footsteps he made.

The frozen tundra suddenly became crossable for little ole me, and I was able to run around in the snow in a way I couldn’t if my dad hadn’t cleared a path for me. And there were several times when I lost my balance and fell into the snow, but my dad would just pick me up, dust me off, and place me back in his footsteps so I could keep moving forward.

That memory reverberates echos to me of what it looks like to follow Jesus and walk by faith. Jesus is constantly trying to lead me to places I can’t get to on my own, and a lot of times they are not easy paths to walk. He leads me to places that look like loving my enemies and forgiving people who hurt me, and often I fall off the path and don’t quite get it right. And when I screw up, I usually expect a stern talking-to and a slap on the wrist (or worse), but instead what I’ve found is a traveling companion with understanding in His eyes who offers me His hand to lift me back on the path.

As a perfectionist, I can get really hung up on the times I fall short and ruminate on them into eternity, but God’s teaching me that His desire for me has a lot less to do with getting things right all the time, and a lot more to do with learning how to trust Him in all things. He is a patient and gentle teacher, and each time I screw up and find myself met with grace, it gets easier and easier to trust Him.

Jesus promised to be with us in all things, and He’s already walked this path before- He made the foot holes for us - we just have to trust His leading and take the next step. And when we lose our balance and fall over into the proverbial snow bank, He’s right there with us to pick us up, dust us off, and set our feet back in a broad place.