Learning to Walk Again

He will not allow your foot to slip.

Psalm 121:3

 Ray was 65 years old.  He was ready to attempt his first steps since the stroke seven months earlier had left him confined to a wheelchair.  He was in a physical therapy session where I was volunteering as the aide.  I could see the fear in Ray’s eyes.  It was nearly his turn, and I was waiting with him, encouraging him.  “Please don’t be afraid, Ray.  We’ll be right here, and I promise we will not let you fall.” The physical therapist said it was time. 

                The plan was to “walk” between the parallel bars with the assistance of the physical therapist and me as the aide.  Since Ray had no voluntary control of his left leg, it had to be lifted for him and placed ahead of his right leg.  That’s what I was able to do for him during that session.  With much pain and intense concentration, Ray would then raise his right leg and take a step.  That was the procedure until he reached the end of the parallel bars.  The whole time, he was being physically held up by the therapist as Ray balanced himself holding onto the bars.  It was slow and laborious, and he was completely exhausted at the end of the trip.

                During the next session later in the week, it was my turn to hold Ray and keep him from falling as he repeated the journey.  It was just as painful and just as exhausting for him, but this time he was able to complete a round trip, twice as long as two days earlier!  We were so proud of him and delighted with his progress!  We all congratulated him and rejoiced in his success that day.

                I personally identify with Ray’s painful steps of learning to walk again – not physically, but emotionally and spiritually.  It has been many years now, but it was a lesson I will never forget. After several months of walking away from the Lord, and walking away from my marriage, God mercifully called me back.  And my husband mercifully agreed that I could come home and we would work on our broken marriage.  Through many difficult and painful months of counseling, our marriage was restored. 

It reminds me of Ray. As he took his first “steps,” there is no way that he could have taken even one of them by himself.  He needed someone to hold him up and even to lift one foot in front of the other for him.  God gave me the understanding that my steps of healing were the same.  He knows I couldn’t have taken even the first step to return home without Him holding me up and giving me the strength to do it.  The same was true for each painful step that followed. 

I understand now how delighted God is with our small steps of faith as we walk with Him in our life journey.   He understands the pain we experience when we falter.  I experience His delight in my trust as I walk with Him now each day. I am encouraged to continue on the path He has chosen for me, trusting fully in each next step.

PERSONAL REFLECTION

How would you describe your journey with the Lord? 

Can you identify with the need to be held up by Him, unsure of each next step in front of you?

Here are some Scriptures that I find helpful:

Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.”

Isaiah 41:10

Do not fear, for I am with you.  Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you; surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. 

Jude 1:24-25

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy…