Take That Step!

Have you ever felt the Lord compelling you to do something? It’s happened to me a few times now, and usually takes me by surprise. The first thing I do is presume this can’t possibly be God. It has to be my over-active imagination, because God surely wouldn’t be asking me to do this!

I generally dismiss the compulsion at first, figuring that if it truly is God, he’ll knock on the door of my heart a second and even a third time, and of course, he always does. That’s exactly what happened when I felt his urging to start this website. I remember the first ideas came way back in 2013, at some early hour in the morning when I’d never choose to be up and about. Maybe that’s part of why I dismissed it for so long. That, and a later conversation I had with the Lord, asking him to please give me the tools I needed if he really wanted me to do this crazy thing. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Earlier this year, during the cold and damp of a British winter, I was mulling over the various types of building work needed at our church, and the fact that financially, it all seemed totally out of our reach. We needed an accessible toilet for disabled people, the roof was leaking, the carpet and windows needed replacing, and on and on the list went. Thinking about it all was rather daunting. We are a fairly small congregation, and although we are constantly praying for the Lord to send new workers into this particular corner of his vineyard, for now, we have to work with what we’ve got.

I was totally unprepared for the way in which the Lord broke into my thoughts, and planted one of his seemingly crazy ideas into my head. The words that came to me were: “Do a walking marathon as a fund-raiser.” Now can you see why I dismiss these things at first? I knew a marathon was 26 miles, and that’s a long walk. I had never walked even close to that distance before. My mother and I once did a 15 mile sponsored walk when I was still at school, and it nearly killed us!

Then, there were the practicalities. I’m blind, so I could never walk 26 miles alone. Who would walk with me? Where would this walk take place? I respectfully asked the Lord to please help me iron out some of these essential details if this idea really was from him, and then I waited.

I have a dear friend at church called Miriam. During the past year, we joined a group called Walking for Health. Our particular branch meets every Friday, and we walk about 2 miles. It’s nothing strenuous, but it gives us a chance to have a chat, get a little exercise, and then get to know others from our community over the tea and biscuits that follows. So, on yet another cold wintery morning, I tentatively told Miriam what I felt the Lord had been saying to me. I expected her to laugh, call me crazy, or something similar, but instead, she surprised me by saying she thought it was a really good idea, and even going so far as offering to do the whole 26.2 miles with me! Yes, by that point I had discovered that a real marathon is slightly longer than 26 miles.

I have to admit that I was gobsmacked by Miriam’s offer, and it was the final confirmation I needed to show me this truly was of the Lord. Up until that point, I had toyed with the idea of asking various friends from church, and maybe a couple of family members, to do a few miles each with me, but this would have required going round a very small circuit, and could have made for a long and boring day, where I felt like a hamster on a wheel, or perhaps like a token on a monopoly board, except each time I passed go, I doubted I’d be collecting £200.

So, our plans were set, and Miriam and I began our tentative training. I say tentative, because neither of us knew much about how to prepare for a marathon. Admittedly, we wouldn’t be running, but it was still going to be a long way to walk, and we’d have to increase our endurance. Other friends also helped, agreeing to walk with me as I trained, and it became a brilliant opportunity for some fabulous deep and meaningful talks, and for the Lord to work in all our lives. After all, what else is there to do when you’re walking mile after mile but talk? And who better to talk about than Jesus!

By early summer, Miriam and I had increased our walks to around the 10 mile distance. Occasionally, her 89-year-old dad even came along in his special buggy. WE saw God’s handiwork wherever we went, as we live in a beautiful forest area. We saw deer, lots of squirrels, and many other animals. We also saw the seasons turn from winter to spring, and then from spring into summer, and we marvelled at our wonderful creator God and the beautiful world he made for us to live in. It’s no wonder Psalm 19 opens with the words: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.” (Psalm 19: 1-2.) It is only since moving to this beautiful part of England, and even more while preparing for my marathon that I have truly come to appreciate the beauty and variety of God’s creation. I loved listening to the birds, especially when we walked early in the morning, and observing the sun as it rose higher in the sky approaching high summer.

I can clearly remember the day we broke the half marathon barrier, and how we celebrated in the middle of a dirt path! We hadn’t intended walking so far that day, but a series of mistakes, and the hilarity of leaving Miriam’s father somewhere with the car keys while we headed off to fetch the car, then realised we had to go right back again because we wouldn’t be able to get into it, meant we added a few extra miles to what had already felt like a long walk. It felt good though, and began to give me hope that God was going to enable me to do this thing he’d given me. Up until that point, I can honestly say I’d had my doubts.

I finally began to believe those scriptures that encourage us to believe in God’s ability to enable us to do the things he’s called us to, like Philippians 2 verse 13, which says: “For It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.” Clearly, God had purposed that Miriam and I were going to do a marathon. God had also provided in other incredible ways, like encouraging my husband to invest in a treadmill the previous year, at a time when I’d been unaware of how useful it would be during my training. I read many a good Christian book wile pounding away in our garage!

As the summer drew to a close, we knew we had to set a date for the big walk. We had figured on needing about ten hours of daylight, and as the nights were drawing in, it was now or never, so consulting our calendars, Miriam and I set the date for 10 September, and then began the process of gathering sponsorship. We hadn’t wanted to do this too early on, because we hadn’t been sure how many months of training we’d need. I guess we could have gone on training forever, but at some point, you have to bite the bullet and pick your date.

God had amazed me a few times up until this point, but what he did next actually blew me away. Armed with our forms, we tentatively mentioned our walk to friends and family, and the money started coming in. I had hoped for about £500 at best, but the numbers just kept going up and up. Miriam put a giving page up on Facebook, and even that brought in over £100. At this point, the walk has raised over £1000, and we give all the glory to God, as well as sincerely thanking those of you who were kind enough to give. Work on the church has begun, with the roof repairs happening earlier this summer, and more plans are underfoot.

Even more importantly than the money, we knew people were praying for us. I believe there are many ways of giving to the work of the Lord, and it doesn’t all have to be financial. When we set out during the early morning of 10 September, we could feel the prayers. I knew friends from all over the world were lifting our walk before the Lord, and it was humbling. I think I can safely say your prayers helped push us along.

It was an incredible day. The walk took 10 hours, and we were blessed with a couple of companions to help us along the way. Church members showed their love and support by meeting us at various points, and our husbands and Miriam’s dad joined us for the last couple of miles. The weather was superb. It wasn’t too hot, or too cold, and it didn’t rain! The circuit we’d carefully chosen turned out to be just the right one. I think our whole bodies ached by the time we’d finished, but the Lord kept us in good spirits, and more importantly, he gave us the ability to finish the task he’d given us.

Something I will take away from this past year as I look back on our training and the build-up to the actual day is that our Saviour can do a lot with a little. I’ve always been told this, but I’ve never quite seen it so clearly in evidence as I do looking back on it all now. From a financial point of view, every donation, no matter how big or small, all helped to add up to a figure we could only have dreamed of. Each pound counted, and no donation was too small or insignificant.

However, that’s just part of the story. The Lord has been reminding me that all he requires of us is a simple step of faith. If I hadn’t listened to his call to walk this marathon to raise money for our church, I would have missed out on so many wonderful blessings. For example, my friendship with Miriam has blossomed, and she has become doubly dear to me as a sister in Christ. I was humbled by the way she caught my vision and took it as her own, and the enthusiasm she threw into the project from day one.

Finally, I’ve been reminded that every act of faith and obedience must begin with one tiny step. In order to complete that long walk, we had to take our first steps of training, way back at the beginning of the year. We had to keep on going, and keep on pegging away at it, especially on the days when it seemed impossible, and we feared the task was beyond us. Truthfully, in our own strength, it was more than we could handle, but we had God’s strength working in and through us. I want to end by encouraging you, if you feel God calling you to do something, then take that first step of faith. Don’t hold back in fear. Just step out, put one foot in front of the other, and see what our Saviour will do. Remember that if he has called you, he will equip you. Be certain you are hearing his call, and then go for it. And when you do take your step of faith, let me know so I can pray for you, just as you all prayed for me and Miriam.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3: 20-21.)