He took me out for a walk.
We had gone out for walks before and each one seemed to be longer than the previous one. It didn’t matter at the time, because the walks themselves were great opportunities to connect. He would share what was going on in my life and he gave me a chance to express things that I wouldn’t usually get to talk about. The fears, the concerns, the frustrations and the aggravations.
It felt mutually beneficial – he seemed to be just as privileged to be walking with me as I was with him. Which was amazing, because I looked up to him a lot. His walk in life was so exemplary.
I didn’t know it at the time, but for our final walk, he asked me to go with him on the kind of walk that would take the best part of a day to complete. A full day. I didn’t go over the top in preparing for it, but I did get myself prepared for the walk.
As we embarked on it, he was able to highlight where we had been. Not just in that particular walk, but the walk of our relationship to that time. He reminded me how when we began I could barely walk for that long and now I was walking confidently and freely without complaint for an extended period of time. He spoke about what I was like at the start of our walking together in terms of my attitude to life and my well-being. I had to acknowledge that indeed there was progress that could be seen thanks to our walking.
At one juncture in our walk, he took a detour to a local pub. There he treated me to a drink and something really enjoyable to eat. As we shared the meal together he raised his glass and offered a toast (it’s alright, I didn’t point out that most toasts I was aware of where made of bread). A toast to celebrate progress. It’s one of the best toasts I’ve ever enjoyed.
The rest of the walk seemed to fly by as we continued to share. It was so good. When we got back, he said he was looking forward to our next walk, to which I nodded my head enthusiastically. As we parted, he said that in as much as we make progress, it’s important at junctures to celebrate the progress made.
Every time we celebrate, it’s the encouragement to keep on walking.
(Photo by Takahiro Sakamoto on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 