As you know from reading this blog, I like to take walks. Sometimes through the woods. Sometimes around the block or in a gym, if the weather is bad. Walks have always been a part of my life, so I’m advocating them at the start of the year 2020. Walks can clear our hearts and minds, while exercising the body. But let me suggest a deeper aspect of walks.
Ram Dass once said, “Ultimately, we’re all just walking each other home.” This resonates with me. I truly believe we are here to walk each other home. It’s at the heart of our journey to freedom, because the problem we see repeatedly at Restore is isolation.
With the onslaught of social media, you’d think the opposite is happening. Yet we are seeing an epidemic of loneliness and isolation like we’ve never seen before in our history, because social media doesn’t create true connections that are intimate and meaningful. Social media is not how we walk each other home.
Think of the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13). Two men are on a seven-mile walk to their homes. Plenty of time to clear their minds of what had just happened in Jerusalem—Christ had been crucified. Their hopes and dreams were shattered. One of the men said, “We were hoping he was going to be the one to rescue Israel” (Luke 24:21).
The two men sought support in one another. They were hashing out the events of the day. Trying to make sense of their world and walking each other home. It says in verse 14, “They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.”
On walks, we get to know one another because the mind, body and spirit are involved. We are discussing life while the body exercises. But when we talk of spiritual things a third person joins the walk. Now the soul is involved. It’s the moment when we finally quit reaching and striving for answers in a world without answers, we come to the end of ourselves and we turn to Him. This is what happened on the Road to Emmaus. Christ joined the walk. “As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them” (Luke 13:15).
I encourage you to find a walking partner for 2020. Maybe this will be a good first step out of isolation for you. Become vulnerable with someone. If you are unable to find a walking partner, join a Restore small group. Most of the relationships I have today started in a small group.
Once you have a walking partner, invite Christ into the conversation. Pray at the beginning of your walk. Then learn to become vulnerable by talking about your loneliness and isolation. Move into the presence of trust and vulnerability. This is how we walk each other home.
The Road of Hope 