IT ALL BEGAN WHEN MY MOTHER TOOK HER HAND AWAY and I took my first steps. I’ve been walking ever since--out of necessity in my childhood and because I enjoy it in my adult years. Long before I learned how to ride a bicycle, I walked everywhere. If I wanted to take the bus to school, I had to walk to the bus stop which was halfway to school, so I just decided to walk to and from the hallowed halls of learning (also known as "The Prison" back in those days.

Medical personnel tell us that the average person walks about 65,000 miles in their lifetime, which is equivalent to about three times around the world. If the average life span for males is 75, then that means that I will have walked about 866 miles per year, or, about 2 .4 miles a day.

The only problem is I hate being average! When I turned 50, I decided to be heart-smart and begin a daily exercise regimen. I decided to walk and have been doing so for the past 20 years. I have averaged about 3 miles per day (takes me about 45 minutes--a power walk). This means that I can add another 30,000 miles for a resounding 87,000 miles or another trip around the world! (makes me tired just thinking about it).

I love to walk and do so outdoors for 8 months of the year. The Michigan winters force me into the mall or on my treadmill for the other four. Over the years I have adopted a set of principles that are analogous to life itself! Let me share them with you.

1. Be properly attired (clothe yourself with grace)
2. Head up, shoulders down (walking posture says a lot our
self-worth)
3. Warm up (quiet time stretches the soul).
4. Start slowly (life is a marathon, not a 100-yard dash).
5. Get into a rhythm—better for your heart and lungs
(consistency is important).
6. Watch for dangers (traffic, dogs, cracks, ruts, roots,
fallen limbs and wires, etc. Be alert because life
contains many pitfalls.
7. Walk with a companion (a wonderful time for worship)
8. Don’t quit until you’ve completed your goal (perseverance
has its special rewards).
9. Take your cell phone along; you never know when you
may need it! Keep the lines of communication open
between you and the Lord as well.
9. Take some water along, especially if it is a warm day
and your journey is long. The Water of Life is the most
refreshing of all.
10. Take a break. Rest a while if you need to. Even our
Lord took a recess now and then.
11. Above all, have proper footwear, especially the shoes of
peace, found in Ephesians 6.

If a daily fitness walk could be put in a pill, it would be one of the most popular prescriptions in the world. It has so many health benefits. Walking can reduce the risk of many diseases — from heart attack and stroke to hip fracture and glaucoma. These may sound like claims on a bottle of snake oil, but they're backed by major research. Walking requires no prescription, the risk of side effects is very low, and the benefits are numerous: weight management, lowering of blood pressure, boosts good cholesterol, relieves lower back pain, lowers stress levels. The list could go on and on. The same could be said for our walk with God. The benefits are even more numerous. In fact, they’re out of this world!

ITS NOT UNCOMMON TO COMPILE A WISH LIST during the Christmas season, or draw up a list of resolutions for the New Year. But there is another list we often overlook—a Thanksgiving Day list. One housewife compiled such a list and it read thusly:

“I am thankful for automatic dishwashers because they make it possible for us to get out of the kitchen before the family comes back in for their after-dinner snacks.

I am thankful for husbands who attack small repair jobs around the house because they usually make them big enough to call in the professionals.

I am thankful for children who put things away and clean up after themselves; they’re such a joy that you hate to see them go home to their own parents.

I am thankful for teenagers because they give parents an opportunity to learn a second language.

I am thankful for smoke alarms because they let you know when the turkey’s done.”

All kidding aside, I’m sure that my list would include the major things such as good health, family, friends, and freedom. It would also have at the very top, my spiritual benefits---my relationship with God, my church family, and the love of God that is showered upon me each day. What about you?

This coming Thursday our nation will again pause to give thanks. And well we should. One would assume that because we have so much in this great land that our hearts would overflow with gratitude. But often just the opposite is true. The more we get, the less thankful we often become and the more we want. Let’s face it, we are a consumer-oriented society, with a great deal of emphasis on “entitlements.” Like that turkey that adorns our tables, we are stuffed---stuffed with things that so consume our time and energy that we don’t have time to reflect on just how blessed we are.

Perhaps you heard about the farmer who visited a large city. In a restaurant before eating, he bowed his head and offered a prayer of thanks. Seeing this, a young man who was seated near him sneeringly asked, “Say old man, back where you come from does everyone pray before he eats?” The farmer quietly replied, “No, the hogs don’t.”

It’s a good thing we have this national holiday because it calls us to remember and reflect. I shudder to think how much more ungrateful we would be as a people if our attention was not drawn to it.

On this special day we should find many reasons to say with the Psalmist, “Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever.”

May I make a suggestion? Why not take some time this Thanksgiving to sit with paper and pen and make a list of all the things you are grateful for. I guarantee you that you will feel better about yourself.

SOMETHING SADDER THAN DEATH? In a sense, the answer is “Yes!” A few days ago, the local newspaper reported that a woman was found dead on the steps of the county courthouse. A law enforcement officer found her at about 9:00 A.M.---in broad daylight---on the main street of the city!

All we know about her as of this writing, is that she was a white female, in her fifties, fully clothed. That’s it! They did an autopsy in Lansing and the preliminary report seems to indicate that she died of natural causes. No sign of foul play.

What’s really sad is that no one has missed her! 72 hours have passed since she was found and yet no one has come forward to identify her. Does she not have family? Friends? Co-workers? Someone? Perhaps someone will yet help solve this mystery. I truly hope so. I am reminded of Psalm 142:4: “ I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.”

Update: On the fourth day after her death, a family from Lansing has identified her. That’s good news because there is nothing quite so sorrowful as those labeled “Jane Doe” or “John Doe” by authorities. To depart this world anonymously is tragic indeed. I suppose that happens more often than the public realizes. I know that there are some in nursing homes that outlive all their relatives and friends. Thank God for those dedicated workers and visitors who take the time to befriend the lonely. They are providing an extremely valuable service.

No one needs to die alone. The Lord of Life promised that His children would never be forsaken. It’s impossible for a Christian to be friendless. And yet, having said that, most people, in their time of departure, want someone around with skin on. If you’re blessed with lots of family members and friends, thank the Lord and say a prayer for those who are without.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO AN ADOPTION CEREMONY? I hadn’t until recently. My wife and I were invited to be a part of a worship service in which a man and his wife formally acknowledged the part that God played in the adoption process that culminated in a ritual before family and friends. Prayers were said, a unity candle was lit by both the parents and the two young girls that were adopted. A minister gave a brief devotional and then introduced the new family. It was beautiful! I was thrilled to witness the event!

One of the girls offered a prayer and as she did so, there was not a dry eye in the sanctuary. You could see the excitement and pride in the faces of the new mom and dad as they held the girl’s on their laps for the benediction.

This whole scene reminded me of a story about a teacher named Debbie Moon whose first graders were discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture had a different hair color than the other members. One of her students suggested that he was adopted. A little girl said, "I know all about adoption, I was adopted." "What does it mean to be adopted?" asked another child. "It means", said the girl, "that you grew in your mommy's heart instead of her tummy!"

National Geographic had a special on television some time back, called “China’s Lost Girls.” It described the “one child per family law” that has led to the abandonment of countless baby girls. They also reported on the growing number of American families who want one of those little girls, who otherwise would spend a good deal of their lives in an orphanage.

This set me to thinking about my pilgrimage. I was not an orphan physically, but I have been a spiritual orphan---without the love that my soul was made for. We are, in the Bible’s words, “created by God and for God” (Colossians 1:16). He wants to be our “Heavenly Father.” But we’re also told that our sins have erected a wall between us. We are spiritual orphans.

Back to “China’s Lost Girls.” Just think of the extremes that many people go to in order to take those Chinese girls. The time, energy, and cost involved are great. These precious little ones have no doubt felt abandoned, rejected, excluded, and betrayed. And yet some Americans, who live thousands of miles away, felt compassion for them. They went a long way to bring these little girls into their families. God also went a long way to bring us into His—all the way from heaven to Calvary, so that we could be adopted into His forever family. He paid the ultimate price. So, in John 14:18, we read of Jesus as He makes this awesome promise: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” And He has. Each time someone is rescued from a spiritual orphanage and begins to feel a sense of acceptance and belonging, could it be that there is an “adoption celebration” that takes place in heaven? They get a new name, a new family, a new inheritance, and a new home. I think that’s cause for celebration!

Whatever you do, don’t be a spiritual orphan; the Father’s arms are open and they’re waiting for you. He loves you. He wants you. Come to Him and you’ll never be lonely again.