Confessions of an Unemployed
Minister - Part One: Ten Thousand Steps
After thirty years of full time ministry I found myself
in transition. One of the gifts this has brought to me is the daily discipline of
walking ten thousand steps. I was encouraged by a friend to make this a habit
for health sake. He gave me a pedometer and challenged me to never waver in
completing the full ten thousand steps every day. He also shared health news
with me that argued that this might be the closest thing there is to a “silver
bullet” for personal health. Now I make special efforts to walk everywhere. It
helps to be a bit obsessive compulsive. I have to finish all my steps each day.
Sometimes I come to the end of the day, and as I am getting ready for bed, I
realize I need more steps. I simply head back out to complete them. I know the
number of steps each regular route is. If I need 3 thousand more steps, that’s
to the grocery store and back. If it’s 6 thousand, that’s needed, that’s the
other Starbucks and back. If I only need a quick thousand, that’s just around
the block. I walk to meetings. I walk while talking on the phone. I make
excuses to go to the store for something.
It began as a health measure, but it has become a Spiritual
discipline for me. It is a holy habit. It’s one of the things that give me a
sense of accomplishment and consistency. It is a picture of the authentic
Spiritual walk for me. The Christian life is not a sprint. It is a marathon.
And, it is not done all at once. It is done in daily, faithful steps; one foot
after another, patiently doing what’s needed for today, and getting back up and
doing it all over again tomorrow. It is a pedestrian journey.
One thing that I have enjoyed while walking is seeing the details
of things that I would not notice if I was driving by them; the particulars of
each home I pass; the specific faces of those I meet; the flowers and trees and
greenery growing in places where only pedestrians can observe; the minutiae of
this world that God has created and invaded and invited us to appreciate. I
often think about how Jesus walked everywhere with his disciples. That was
their school. As they walked, he used what only pedestrians could notice, to
teach them about the realities of the Kingdom of God. While waiting for my next
ministry employment, I want my daily ten thousand steps to make me a more
disciplined follower of Jesus Christ, and a more observant participant in the
realities of the Kingdom of God all around me.
