Lately when I’m walking and I see a straight path in front of me, I close my eyes and keep moving forward. Just for a short time. 5 steps or so. I do this while walking to my car from the hospital, walking down the long basement hallway to the hospital cafeteria get my teen his favorite snack, or just walking outside by myself. It’s a time that I can just breathe while simultaneously moving forward. Much like life feels right now. Breathing and surviving while life just keeps spinning. Sometimes I stop and breathe, but I still find the most comfort in the walking. Its a way to let go. Let go of control, let go of fear, let go of my sight and perspective for a moment and just feel at peace.
As I thought about this today, I was reminded of the very familiar 2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” And the Amplified Version which is my favorite. “For we walk by faith, not by sight, living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises.”
This makes me wonder if the apostle Paul ever did this. Walking with his eyes closed. As a practice that later spilled into his teachings about what it means to live in faith. I guess someday I can ask him. Maybe someday he and I will be walking with our eyes wide open in heaven, gazing at the glittering sea of glass, or the beautiful colors we’ve never seen before and we’ll say “Remember when we used to walk with our eyes closed? Maybe that was so we could forget the world for a moment and just let Gods peaceful presence and strength encompass us completely like it is now.”
These rambling thoughts are comforting in a time when life is so uncertain and so much is yet to be seen. Sometimes life just keeps moving. We don’t have a say in that. But it brings comfort when I have the choice to move forward in faith, move forward even in fear, move forward in surrender, and sometimes just move forward.….with my eyes closed.
A Loss For Words 