The Abundant Wife

Today Brad took Naomi with him to guitar practice at the church, and I took Oliver and Evelyn along for my walk around the high school.  About a block from my house as I pushed the stroller in front of me, with Oliver running behind me, I saw a young man riding his bike toward me and thought I recognized him.  I squinted at him for a moment, but then realized he was a stranger.  As he passed by me, he yelled out, “HEY BEAUTIFUL!”  I looked around, and seeing no one else, realized he must be referring to me.  With that auspicious beginning to our walk, we were off on our little adventure.

As we walked by the high school, a teenage boy wandered around outside his portable classroom, on the other side of the fence.  I asked him if was kicked out of class, and he said yes.  I asked what he’d done, and if he’d talked back to his teacher.  He said yes again.  He said his name was Andrew, and I told him that was Oliver’s middle name.  With that, we were on our way again.  In front of the high school, a man rode by on a bike and shouted, “Have a great day!”  As we crossed a street, I watched a man in business attire jump his bike off a curb as he rode behind his buddy.  We stopped by the coffee shop, where we greeted the owners who were watering their outdoor plants.  Finally, when we were almost home we passed our neighbor washing the windows of her bright yellow VW bug.  We chatted about the gorgeous weather, and the limited time left to enjoy it before the weather turns cold for winter.

I’ve got to admit, I’ve been looking forward to the end of this challenge.  I feel like I’ve really flopped at getting up in the morning, my walks have gotten shorter as the month wore on, blogging five days a week is time-consuming, and the more I walk the more distracted I seem to get.  But then there are days like today when I’m reminded that good things are happening here, now, because of my decision to walk and pray.  I have formed new relationships, I’m getting exercise, I’m meeting my neighbors, I’m more interested in my husband’s work, and I’m less afraid of walking in my neighborhood.

If you’re doing this challenge with me, or working on some other goals at this time, I encourage you not to give up.  You may be failing in many ways, but you are also succeeding in many ways.  If you write down your goals and work on them just a little bit each day, you will see improvement over time if you stick with it.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  Jeremiah 29:13