Run, Forrest, run!
I love the movie, Forrest Gump. How can 1994 seem like only yesterday? I’ve never looked at a box of chocolates the same way since I watched the movie. I’ve also not looked at running in the same way.
For the past few years, I have found that whenever I am stressed, I take a walk to clear my mind and to try and relieve my anxiety. I was thinking this week that if I were Forrest Gump, and the amount of my stress determined how far I traveled, I would probably be somewhere in the Pacific Ocean attempting to walk on water. I cannot run, and I certainly cannot walk on water.
You see, when I was a little girl my mother told me, “Janet Kay, you can do anything, but Honey, bless your heart, you cannot run.” She was not being mean. The truth was and is, I cannot run. I may appear to take long strides at a quick pace but actual running … ummm, no. My attempt to run makes me look like a yak being chased by the police.
Photo provided
I’ve noticed that walking lessens my anxiety and helps clear out sandbags of stress that weigh me down. At times, there have been a lot of sandbags. Casting them aside has strengthened my faith muscles. I think my faith muscles might look like that of a heavyweight wrestler.
As I got older, I thought life would get easier. What was I thinking? My worries look different than I imagined. As my littles have gotten bigger so have my worries about them. And they have begotten their own littles and even one of them has begotten littles.
In my walks, I talk to God as if He is walking beside me. My prayers aren’t eloquent words of spiritual dialect or language. My prayers are more like pleas for wisdom and strength and protection … after I thank Him for walking this journey with me. I’ve actually sung the old hymn, “In the Garden” while walking. And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own.
It is in recognizing who God is in my life that I can start to relax.
I often end my prayer with words of gratitude, “Thank you, God, for listening and for what you are going to do. And help me be okay with whatever happens.” That last part is huge. My prayers may not be answered in the way I want them to be nor in the time I want them answered. Faith becomes my anchor. God’s word becomes my strength.
Life is hard.
But Isaiah 40:31 reminds me, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; They will run (or walk fast) and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint.”
As we all know, thanks to Forrest Gump, “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.”
And so, I put on my Skechers, and I walk, and I pray and I might have a piece of chocolate when I get home. Thank you, Forrest, for the reminder.
Walk fast, Janet, walk fast.
Janet Hart Leonard can be contacted at janethartleonard@gmail.com or followed on Facebook or Instagram (@janethartleonard). Visit janethartleonard.com.