Walking by Faith

Monday I was eating my lunch on the steps of the office enjoying the wonderful weather and destressing. I work downtown right on Main Street and it is a very congested, heavily traveled street.

While eating, I happened to notice a woman walking down the sidewalk. Nothing about her was particularly startling, nothing noteworthy. The reason she captured my attention was because she was walking with the use of a cane used by the blind.

I watched her walk the length of the block. I watched how she moved her cane back and forth as she took steps. I saw how she halted when she came to a crack in the sidewalk. She slowly, but deliberately, made her way from one end of the street to the other. She never ran, she didn't stumble, she walked with slow, patient determination. I was awed.

How much courage must it take to go out into the world without the aide of sight, only the use of a long piece of wood? What kind of faith must it take to walk in a world without sight? What kind of fears did she have to overcome? What does she think of as she walks down the busy street listening to all of the sounds bombarding her ears but has no idea of the dangers that might lie ahead? I was humbled.

The humility I felt came when I realized I walk daily in a world where I can see the dangers to my physical self. I am confident because I can see things and respond to them. The woman on the street could not, yet she continued to venture out and accept the challenges of life.

I was humbled because I realized the woman and I had something in common; there are things out there that I cannot see as well. I have no idea of what the evil one does with his time, but I do know that he is notorious for putting things in my way to watch me fall. Then he laughs. Would I have laughed if I saw the woman stumble and fall? He would have.

I serve an awesome God that never laughs when we stumble. He understands the challenges of life, the temptations, the potholes in our life. He helps to brush us off when we fall, pat us on the back, and He encourages us to keep on walking.... in faith. Just like the woman on the street with her cane. One deliberate step at a time, walking by faith not by sight.

"...we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5: 6-7.