On a walk......

I was out running a few errands this morning and saw a handful at least of people out for a morning walk. The weather right now is beautiful and especially in the morning when the temperatures are lower so driving around in our neighborhood you see many people out walking. Most of the time you can see earphones hanging from their ears and an ipod or mp3 player clipped at their waist and they are focused on whats ahead and the path they are on. However there was one lady today that caught my attention. She had her earphones on listening to music it appeared but as she was walking whenever there happened to be a piece of trash or something on the ground she would stop and pick it up. She even stopped at the car wash I was at and picked the vacum hose off the ground and wrapped it back up.

Now I am sure there had been others who have passed the same spot but instead of stopping to pick it up like this woman they continued on their journey focused on what they were doing. This lady could have only worried about the path ahead of her and gone on her way but instead she stopped and contributed to something good by picking up trash along the way. There were fast food restaurants, an ice cream shop and a liquor store along the way and she could have easily choosen to be distracted by a big juicy hamburger or hot fudge sundae but instead she kept going. Each day we are asked to walk with Jesus and follow a path that will help shape and mold us more into His image. There are always going to be distractions along the way and sometimes they will be positive things like picking up trash that can help contribute to others around us and build our characters or they can be negative things like that juicy hamburger that can cause us to stumble and loose sight of where we are going and the path we are on. The postive ways that we contribute in life will help us to move forward and go where God wants to take us but the negative distractions will cause us to take a detour and miss out on the things God has planned.

Our race should not be about the speed we run, but about the consistency of our running. We will still occasionally stumble or slow our journey, but we should always remain focused on moving steadily forward. - Michael Youssef. You dont have to be a Pastor or a Missionary to serve and contribute along the way just doing something simple like holding the door for someone at the grocery store, mowing the lawn of the elderly lady down the street, offering a meal to a family struggling, sending a card of encouragement to someone going through a health crisis, there are so many things that we can do that may seem insignificant or no big deal but can be huge to someone else. This is what is means to show Christ through our actions and truely be the hands and feet of Jesus. "Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now." ~Saint Teresa of Avila

So what are you going to do along your walk today? Are you going to only look at whats ahead and focus on your agenda, be distracted by negativity and allow it to hinder your relationship with Christ, or are you going to step out in faith and do something positive to shine for Him. Matthew 20:28 "For even I the Son of man came not to be served but to serve and to offer my life as a ransom for many."