A LONG, HARD ROAD...

Rollingaround has been difficult lately due to the fact that I've been trying to "walk" rather than use my wheelchair. Oh, I still use my chair when going long distances but when possible, I try to get the old legs to do the job! Being in therapy has done me a world of good, basically because it has gotten me out of the wheelchair and unto my feet. Even though they are indeed wobbly and it takes me much longer to get from point A to point B; it does a body good to push oneself now and then. You know, now that I think of it, it has always done me more good than harm to push myself.

Too many times, I've found taking the easy way was not always the best way to go. A lot is gained by taking the more difficult way. I actually remember complaining to a therapist that something he had asked me to do was too hard. He'd simply say "So, do hard!". I hated when he would say that because I knew that even if I whined and complained the session wouldn't be over until I at least tried to accomplish the task.

In today's world, the easy way is often the road we choose to travel. Even in our Christian life, the path we choose is fine until alas it gets a bit bumpy, uncomfortable, or just plain inconvenient. How often do we give our lives to the Lord and impatiently pull it back into our own hands when things aren't happening quick enough or we feel fear when things don't seem to go our way? This is a time of instant gratification. Just like the Chase Credit Card commercial, "I want it all and I want it now!" Luckily, our Father God is not an on demand God. When you choose to follow the Lord; many gifts may be bestowed upon you. While you may indeed receive what you are asking for; in the meantime, you will at times be taught patience and virtue. Although our God is a BIG God, His work in us and through us often takes time and great transformation.

Just as being a Christian is an ongoing journey; so also, we find that walking in the footsteps of Christ is not always as easy as one might think. I thought that once I rededicated my life to Christ my life would be so much easier. Not so! With each step it too became more difficult. Now I had a responsibility to think twice before acting, speaking and choosing right from wrong. Living in my Father's presence often asked sacrifice and integrity. Being unpopular, different and non-conventional is often a lonely place to dwell. Materialistic and demanding ways are often difficult to give up when one must replace them with a giving heart. Losing others who are not willing or even aware of the meaning of having a relationship with Jesus Christ can often be a very frustrating occurrence. It is a bumpy road at times, but one well worth taking!

So as I continue to take the hard and difficult path; I'm often reminded that One who is much greater than I once walked the hard and difficult trail. As the plaque on my writing desk states, " Great love and achievement involve great risk." Let me never settle for the easy way!