Thank God for Long Walks

Psalm 148:7-10

⁷ Praise the Lord from the earth,
    you sea monsters and all deeps,
⁸ fire and hail, snow and frost,
    stormy wind fulfilling his command!

⁹ Mountains and all hills,
    fruit trees and all cedars!
¹⁰ Wild animals and all cattle,
    creeping things and flying birds!

Psalm 9:1-2

¹ I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
    I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
² I will be glad and exult in you;
    I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

            I was on a walk this morning, a little over 2 miles.  I have been walking a lot this summer. The arthritis in my left knee, first identified in 2004, has worsened of late.  It has been about 3 months since I went on a run and I’m not sure when I will again.  Actually saying that out loud, or in this case writing it, can be scary or depressing, depending on how I think about it.  I have lived robustly.  I have hiked up mountains, received black eyes playing full contact rugby, survived army basic training, and endured vicious hits on the football field.  I don’t feel grateful for limitations.

            However, this morning I did.  OK, I wasn’t grateful that I have knee pain.  I was grateful that in spite of the knee pain, I can walk 2 miles or 5 miles.  (I don’t know how I’d do after 10). 

            I was thankful because I feel so happy while walking.  I feel so close to God.  This morning I prayed for my family, for my church, and for people in my neighborhood.  I prayed for people by name.  Sometimes my prayer while walking doesn’t involve me bringing things to God.  Rather, I listen to the birdsong and feel the wind blow over me, and the sun shine on me.  I participate as nature praises God (see Psalm 19:1-4; 148:3-10). 

Is the Psalmist in these and other passages guilty of anthropomorphizing non-sentient life?  I don’t think so.   The earth has a relationship with God that God understands even if, in our scientific way of thinking and seeing we don’t.  The Bible is full of passages expressing this relationship between God and creation.  This God-nature connection is as real as anything is real, even if we might call it ‘mystical.’  When I walk, I get to participate in that beautiful interchange between God and all God has made.  That’s why I never wear earbuds while I am walking.  I don’t want to miss anything!

So, as I walked this morning, I felt myself full of gratitude for being able to walk and able to enjoy a good walk so much.  That sense of gratitude led me to this conclusion.  I need to not spend much time lamenting things like the fact that I’ll never put football pads on again or I’ll never run a 6-minute mile again.  I thank God that was able to do those things.  And I thank God for the miles and miles of walks ahead of me.  I enjoy life when I live thankfully.  I see God’s goodness. 

So, I am looking all about my life for prompts to gratitude.  I don’t have to look very long or very hard.  God is the giver of wonderful blessings and I will thank Him for them.