Walking Funny

I was born with bi-lateral clubbed feet and spent much of my childhood in casts and braces because of all of the necessary surgeries required by Shriners Hospital. That caused me to "walk funny" my whole life and even now, especially when I'm tired, I walk with a limp. It's been a painful part of my life but it really has been more of a blessing. For many years it caused me to be overly sensitive to "looking good." No one wants to walk with a limp. Over the years I have thought about not only limping physically but how hard it is not to limp in our spiritual walk. But I have found that the once our "walk" is given over to God, we don't have to work as hard to make it look better. I love Daniel:

"He knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom." —Daniel 6:10

Have you ever wondered why a pigeon walks so funny? It's so it can see where it's going. A pigeon's eyes can't focus as it moves, so the bird actually has to bring its head to a complete stop between steps in order to refocus. It proceeds clumsily—head forward, stop, head back, stop.

In our spiritual walk with the Lord, we have the same problem as the pigeon or the same problem that comes with having a physical problem with our feet. But consider that poor pigeon: We have a hard time seeing while we're on the go. We need to stop between steps—to pause and refocus on the Word and the will of God. That's not to say we have to pray and meditate about every little decision in life. But certainly our walk with the Lord needs to have built into it a pattern of stops that enable us to see more clearly before moving on.

Daniel's practice of praying three times a day was an essential part of his walk with God (Daniel 6:10). He knew there's a certain kind of spiritual refocusing that we can't do without stopping. His stops gave him a very different kind of walk—one that was obvious to those around him.

What about us? At the risk of being thought of as different, as Daniel was, let's learn this valuable lesson from the pigeon: "Looking good" isn't nearly as important as "seeing well."