I read an article a couple of years back about a person who went on a journey of health and self-discipline but had few ‘extra resources’ for supports. She ended up simply walking around her small apartment in a loop over and over for a year or more and ended up greatly improving her overall health and wellness. She had walked it so much that they had to replace the carpet in her apartment as her repeated ‘trek’ had worn out a path and needed to be fixed up! I remember being struck by her ingenuity, resolve and ‘stick-with-it-ness’ that this commitment would have required. She didn’t join a fancy gym, post daily social media updates, but quietly sought to make a desired improvement and eventually saw major results from this.
I started to do my own ‘kitchen walk’ on days when I was relatively sedentary for whatever reason (or excuse) that I had. I would think, “Well, this is better than nothing!” I cannot say it has yielded any marked results (yet…) except that it got me reflecting in a new way on a spiritual truth.
We sometimes think that we have to have some major commitment to God for a long and involved prayer time, acts of service, huge generosity, grand evangelizing, or however else you see as a way to please God. Yes, I am sure God does appreciate our more concerted and grandiose efforts to know and serve Him. But, I think He also realizes that sometimes we are weary, overwhelmed, unsure and spent. Sometimes, our ‘better than nothing’ is also appreciated by God and our lesser than grandiose efforts will end up adding up to make a real impact in our spiritual health and walk with our Lord. A short, “Be with me today, Lord,” in the morning is ‘better than nothing’ and God is pleased with our efforts, small or large. Jesus is reasonable with His expectations of His people. “Let your moderation be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;” (Phil. 4:5).
Can you do a daily ‘kitchen walk’ effort to connect with Jesus today?