To Walk Humbly With My Walking Buddies

Hyde Park, Tulsa, OK – I’m back in my beloved T-Town for a few days. What would a walk down Memory Lane be without my good friend who has walked with me here so many times in the past? We were among the firsts to purchase a lot and build here. Only big dirt piles and graded land were here when I purchased. We were risk takers. Who knew if all the promises made by the developer would come true? He kept his promise. It was a struggle in the beginning to entice people to move to this barren land that was adjacent to a “promised” mall nearby.

So what do walkers do to pitch in and help make the dream come true? We walked often around the community and we prayed for the buyers that would join us in our community. We prayed for supernatural publicity. We coined the phrase: “Hyde Park is Holy Property”. Today, we walk among the manifestation of our prayers. So many new homes have been built with so many great residents all over now. It's wonderful.

There is nothing like walking and talking about God's faithfulness. A good morning walk with a good friend, as the sun is rising, is beyond measure. It doesn't matter if we have some personal issues and need someone to listen, or if our job that day is to do the listening. It just seems a walk in God’s creation is the answer. We aren't there to get in a certain number of steps or see how many calories we can burn. We are simply there for the peace that comes from a walk. To slow down. To breathe. To talk. To listen. To love. To be loved.

I can’t help but think of these walks when I read this verse in Micah 6:8. “He has told you what is good and what the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Just as those morning walks are more than the steps, so is walking humbly with our God. The walk is about a relationship. He is our guide. And with Him as our guide, we know we are on the right path. If we are walking humbly with Him, staying in step, we form a beautiful bond that will guide us. We recognize it is not our will, but His that is best for us. What is before us is unknown to us, but not to Him. He leads. He shows the way. He is walking with us through it all. Through the good and the bad. Through thick and thin. Always. This isn’t just one nice walk. This is long term.

This is a relationship. A journey together. This is a commitment. Listen to Him. Depend on Him. His plans for us are far beyond what we could plan for ourselves. Even when it seems like it’s not, we humble ourselves and trust. Walking faithfully with God.. What an amazing way to live our lives. God is our constant walking companion. Let's ask ourselves the tough questions: Am I walking humbly with God? Am I walking humbly as Jesus walked? His humble walk is our example.

It Doesn't Have to Be My Way

Remember Frank Sinatra singing “I did it my way”? The song was about a man fondly looking back on a life lived on his own terms. But, is that the way WE want to live?

I heard a talk where the speaker handed out empty toilet paper rolls to each of us to make her point. She asked: “Have you ever had a dispute with your husband about the RIGHT way to hang a toilet paper roll? And, if you weren’t in agreement, did you correct it each time that he’d put it in different from the way you thought it should be? Did it frustrate you because it just wasn’t right or it just wasn't YOUR WAY? She said God had been speaking to her about having to have it HER WAY, so, on purpose, she has been leaving it the way her husband put it on. She realized “It doesn’t have to be MY WAY all the time. She instructed us to write on our rolls…. “It doesn’t have to be MY WAY!”

What a powerful object lesson! The point, well taken. It's such an erroneous belief that OUR WAY is the best way of doing things and then insisting others agree with us. There are those who seem to have taken a life course called, “How to Be Absolutely Sure of Everything”! And, honestly, in the light of eternity and what matters most, does it really matter? Wanting and insisting on getting our way is a set up for unhappiness and a lot of disagreements with others. We rationalize that THEY are the one that needs to change.

It’s part of our human nature to want to have our way. We all have a touch of the need to be right. We all have areas where we believe that we know better than others. As we learn to let go of the need to have it OUR WAY, the more energy we’ll have to spend on things that REALLY ARE important.

It’s time to ask ourselves, “Do I want to be right or do I want to be happy? Do I want to get my way, or do I want to feel a closeness with others?” Who wants to be a know-it-all, when there’s only one KNOW-IT-ALL? He is Father God. Instead of singing Frank’s “I DID IT MY WAY”, why not be singing…. “I did it God’s way!” And when we do it God's way.....in humility and love.....it WILL BE His way....and the BEST WAY! But, just thought I'd add a photo of the RIGHT WAY of hanging toilet paper!

"He has shown you, oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8

"Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in HIS WAYS." Psalm 128:1