Eighteen months ago, my husband and I moved into a wonderful new home on some acreage. I’ve never lived in the country and honestly didn’t think too much about the need to make any adjustments. And that is exactly where my demise began. I have always lived in neighborhoods with sidewalks and have always been a walker. I love walking. But when we moved, I lost my sidewalks so I quit walking. In my mind, I was just taking a break. But eighteen months later, a less than satisfactory medical report jolted me.

So, I’m back to walking.

I had lost the habit. It was so easy to do. Now I am back into the rhythm of walking and it is actually refreshing. I’m catching up on so many things: a audible book I’ve been meaning to listen to, a few podcasts people have recommended, a longer prayer and praise time, enjoyment of the outside and nature. It’s been pretty great.

Good habits are a funny thing because they are so easy to abandon and amazingly difficult to pick back up. Why is that? Regardless of what the habit is — reading your Bible, attending church after COVID, praying daily for a certain friend who needs it — starting again is often challenging.

Therefore, this blog is to encourage you. If you have lost a habit you wish to regain, just start again. It’s no big deal. Truly. If you said “yes” to reading the Bible with me this year but the habit has fallen away, just start again. If you said you were going to call a friend but it’s been weeks, call anyway. There is no deadline for starting again.

I’ll never know what I missed for eighteen months by not walking as my exercise. Worrying about it won’t change anything. By moving forward, my goal is to receive a more positive health report. But even more than that, I want to enjoy all the benefits the habit of walking has always given me.

I’m grateful that stopping didn’t mean I couldn’t start again.

Let’s raise a water bottle and celebrate all the future walks out in the country. Join me anytime you like.

 

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 100