I know – I know – not the best title you’ve ever heard.
But that’s what happened. It was like this:
I was up north by myself and needed some exercise so I started off walking down the road. I decided to walk to town making a wide loop, part of which took me on the highway. I had a purpose and a plan. I felt pretty good.
But then I was thinking - it’s dangerous walking along a highway … by yourself … things are moving very fast.
And of course as you can tell by the title, I got a rock in my shoe. Not in the back part of the walk where it is peaceful and few cars whiz past but right on the main highway. I had some choices:
Walk the rest of the way home with the rock in my shoe (it was a long way).
Stop, get out of the traffic, and take the rock out (ugh – I’m going to look ridiculous and it will be hard).
The first choice was so much easier but it was going to impact my walk all the way back to the cabin. The second choice would make the walk easier but I would have to take my shoe off (which was double knotted like a kid’s) and I worried about balancing while I was operating so close to a highway. And face it – I’m lazy.
I started daydreaming about what God might be saying to me by this experience.
Life moves fast. Take time for my walk with God.
Sometimes I make lazy spiritual decisions.
Sometimes the easiest path is bad for my walk.
Doing something right for my walk might put me at risk.
What a great blog this is going to make.
But only if I make a decision… well maybe I could do the easy thing but write it the way I should attend to my walk.
But no … if I’m going to share the spiritual journey – I need to walk it.
So … I prayed - I got off the road – I balanced - I unknotted my shoe - I looked ridiculous - I removed the rock … and I walked home thinking how there isn’t any situation where God is not walking with me … ready to teach me … ready to lead me … how full of His grace my life is!
The apostle, Paul, had an amazing walk with the Lord. He experienced great revelations, saw Jesus on the road to Damascus, taught crowds, stood up for God’s plan of salvation no matter the cost … and he had a “thorn in his flesh”. Paul knew the thorn served the purpose of keeping him humble … but thorns are painful.
So three times he prayed for God to take it away. It never says what this “thorn” was but the Bible does record God’s answer to Paul.
2 Corinthians 12:9 “… My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
So Paul went on with his life and his thorn because he believed God. I do too. I could get the rock out of my shoe but trust me … I still have some thorns … and that’s okay. God’s grace is sufficient and His power is made perfect in my weakness.