Walking and Praying

I went for a walk tonight. This is almost unheard of behaviour for me. I am the stereotypical bookworm academic. I am much happier curled up in a chair than moving around. It was made especially atypical by the fact that I represented the Bay at a local bridal expo today, and was on my feet far more than is usual, and they were sore after my shift ended.

I came home from the expo, watched another episode or two of the West Wing, and realized that I needed to create some space to do some thinking and praying. And that I needed to walk, and to be in nature to do it. So I gathered up my ipod, purse, car keys, sunglasses and cell phone (no one said I had to rough it to be in nature), hopped in the car and drove myself to Fish Creek Park.

For the next half-hour or so I simply walked and soaked. I played a Jason Upton cd through the ipod and just walked. There was a deer on my path at one point - so close I could have almost touched it before it ran away into the bushes. The clouds were beautiful, the air was crisp, the birds were everywhere, and there were very few people. So I walked and worshipped and prayed a little. Mostly I needed to make sure I took the time to soak in the presence of God. I felt like there was space to breath. There was freedom. I think that God propelled me from my couch into the park to see a bigger picture again. To be reminded of the beauty in His creation, the vastness of who He is. To draw my attention from the narrow situation that I've focused on to Him. As I was driving there I was thinking about how desperately I needed to find a human being to talk through this situation in great depth with, picking apart every aspect until I found just the right words to communicate my heart and solve everything. As soon as I thought that, I felt God reminding me that I really needed to talk with Him about this situation. That it is His. So I walked, and I breathed, and I soaked, and I prayed. My mind was quite for at least the entire first loop. I simply noticed my surroundings and soaked in the music and presence of God. The second loop I began to pray a little, and then I was done.

I'm in the midst of a difficult situation yet again. I'm working on writing a piece that God has laid clearly on my heart to communicate to some of those involved in the situation. It's not been easy, and is probably why I needed to walk and pray.

So here's what my week looks like: My last shift at the Bay as a full-time employee is tomorrow. Tomorrow night Megs and my brother and I are going to see Starfield play and hear David Nasser speak. Tuesday I start my new job full-time, and Tuesday night is a house concert that I'm attending. The rest of the week will be pretty quiet and restful as I begin to adapt to my new job and use the evenings to take it easy, and to continue writing this piece.

Pray for me this week as I am studying scripture and writing. I want desperately to hear God clearly and communicate His heart in this situation.

Pray for me too, as I begin meeting in the next weeks with a group of friends to worship, pray, and study scripture together on a regular basis. I have been dreaming of this somewhat quietly for a long time - a God dream hidden deep that is beginning to come to frution. We desire to meet God intimately as we meet with each other, to honor Him and and invite His presence and His kingdom among us.

And with that, I'm off to bed - to read scripture, pray a bit more, and sleep.