A Walk to Remember

In August of 2013 a doctor told me my jogging days were over. I didn't see such a diagnosis coming, and minutes after walking out of the doctor's office that day, the tears came bursting forth like a waterfall.

This past Tuesday morning my first steps of the day brought shooting pain from my left foot with each and every step. I had no idea what I did or why it was happening, as everything seemed fine just the day before. I limped through the school day (literally), and had to abandon my daily after school walk after just five minutes.

Wednesday was more of the same. With those two days of pain came flashbacks to the osteoarthritis diagnosis in my knee. Was this the next step in the aging process? Was walking the next thing to be taken away from me? My mind was overridden with these worst case scenario type thoughts. It was a downward mental spiral no doubt triggered by what happened in that doctor's office four years ago.

This morning my foot felt a whole lot better and after school, it felt good enough to try my daily walk. I ventured over to the path by the river not only for the scenic view, but also because I knew there were countless benches along the path available in case I needed them.

While I did have some foot pain, it wasn't bad enough to stop me for walking. When I reached one particular scenic part of the path about 45 minutes into the walk, the tears began to fall again. This time they were tears of joy and praise.

Perhaps it was an overreaction to think I was suddenly on the path to losing my daily walks when the pain hit two days ago. Perhaps the pain will return in the morning and this was simply a temporary reprieve. Time will reveal it all in the days ahead.

As mentioned, I became quite emotional during one portion of today's venture. Perhaps it was the scenery around me that brought out that emotion. Perhaps it was just me overreacting to the events of these past few days. Perhaps it was Him reaching down and enriching me with His love. I can't say I know for sure why I felt what I did today. What I do know is I was given one more walk. Perhaps it was my last one. Perhaps there are a dozen more in my future. Or a hundred. Or a thousand. Regardless of how many more I have in the future, I hope I'm humbled and full of praise during each one, just like I was today.

Losing anything in this life hurts. A loved one. A friend. A pet. A physical ability. They all hurt at some level. It takes strength to carry on after a loss. I admire anyone and everyone out there who finds that strength within. Sometimes I wonder how much I have inside, and if it will be enough when I need it most. Faith was the answer this week. Faith is the only answer I can conceive of in the future.