It’s time for a heart check. A handing over of the mess that winter left to make room for all spring is bringing. It looks like breathing deeply to soak in the promises of God and the beauty that accompanies the deep inhale. It is time to let go and embrace the abundance that God provides around every corner. Come walk with me!
If you have been here awhile or are brand new (welcome :)), I love taking long walks . It never fails that God meets me along the way and somehow the act of moving in sync with worship music allows me to hear more clearly from God. I focus on my surroundings in an act of worship and capture the beauty more often than not with my iPhone camera. It’s amazing how the goodness of God magnifies itself in every step and hidden treasure along the way. Today I am sharing my heart through photos and some words. Won’t you come and walk with me?
Somedays while walking I challenge myself to discover something new especially when walking on a familiar path. I never tire of sun, shadows, and the beauty when looking through the trees. Sometimes we have to look in a different direction, but God promises that He is everywhere.
Other days, my focus is on hearing from God and any snippets of beauty are an added bonus.
On this day, I took my big camera and found beauty in a whole new way.
All of a sudden an object far away became a gift unwrapped by a zoom lens. Birds that I had never captured before appeared in my view finder. Ordinary trees became extraordinary as shelves of mushrooms provided a bit of distraction. Greens of all shades and hues graced the landscape. All things took on the look of freshly washed and newly cleaned. Somehow the world looked brighter and clearer on this day.
I hope you’re still with me. Come walk with me because each step leads to a new understanding from God. Each inhale reminds us of His promises and goodness. We create new rhythms when we make space in our day to hear from God. It is one of the most beautiful gifts God gives us.
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What I know is that walking heals my body, mind, and soul. It creates a perspective change that leaves me wanting more every time. The quiet and solitude provides a space of reckoning with myself. How often do we do that? God just wants us to spend time with Him. It looks like walking, sitting in solitude, worshipping Him with music, praying, journaling, or perhaps cooking. Whatever the invitation looks like in your life to spend time with God, you can rest assured He is always asking, “Come walk with me”!
Blessings!
Hi Mary! Great pictures. It’s amazing everytime we realize how He cares for the sparrows and what that means for us His children. What an amazing feeling everytime we connect with that beautiful revelation. Now you’ve got me inspired to go take a walk myself haha! Bless you.
– Christy
I hope you took a walk. It’s one of my favorite things to do because in the steady of rhythm of footsteps matched with my breathing, God always shows up. Blessed to have you here today!
I love to take those worship walks too. Mine are often at my local, neighborhood dog park. It’s not as wooded as your walk here, but it’s still very picturesque and inspires me to worship and pray as I walk along. Thanks for taking us on your walks, Mary! It’s a great reminder to get out there in God’s beautiful creation to worship Him each day!
I do hope you are doing well. I’ve been praying for you and your family daily! Hugs!
I can see you out walking and enjoying the beauty. It is very calming and restorative for me. I find that worshiping God is that much easier when I see His creation spread out before me.
I am doing well and I appreciate your prayers for my family. They are felt and make a difference Love you friend!
All of this beauty is near your new home? Spectacular. Where we currently live walking in the woods could mean coming upon a Mama bear with cubs or a pack of coyotes! When we live in the city (it’s not metro) I look forward to walking on sidewalks and looking at pretty houses and gardens. I’ll take our 14-yr old Sam with us on a leash (that will be a new experience for him!). I have taken a walk with you and I believe we enjoyed lots of laughter. Do you not think when Jesus called His 12, He said, “Follow Me – just walk with Me! And, I will show you things you’ve never seen before!” *selah*
This beauty is near my home. We are blessed with so many amazing parks in my city. It’s one of my favorite things about living here. We have walked and laughed together before and I loved it. Oh what a gift it would be to walk with Jesus. When Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, it must have been one amazing walk.
I’ve been trying to capture more photos with my nice camera rather than just my phone. Beautiful photos friend. I felt like I was right there walking alongside you.
I love that you felt like you were with me. Now I am picturing how much fun that would be. Taking pictures is just as much an act of worship as the way itself. Thank you for being here.
Thank you for sharing this virtual walk! I miss my long hikes so much, and you blessed me today by sharing a way for me to “walk” also! God gives beauty all around us. Blessings to you!
Thank you for walking with me! I love having friends along. I cannot imagine what it feels like for you to not be able to take long walks but am praying that snapshots such as these ease your pain and bless your day. Love you sweet friend!
Oh wow, Mary! This lovely walk of your beautiful photos and words have refreshed my heart today. I love God’s invitation to us through His creation – “Come Walk With Me!” Love and hugs to you!
What a blessing to hear that you are refreshed. That is what I was hoping for when I wrote this because that is exactly what walking does for me. I pray you have some opportunities to walk with God and find Him in nature. Blessings!
This reminds me Mary, of how nature is a place many hear God’s voice. As you know I am all about Breathing Space and trees! Nature can show God’s untampered perfection, and even gives me lessons in surrendering to exactly how He made me and others. Thanks for this breathing space today!
Your breathing spaces bring me so much comfort. There is something about nature that always comes with lessons from God. I know one of the reasons I go walking is for the uninterrupted time I get to spend with God. I love the idea of learning about surrendering while out in nature. I know I could learn so much from you if we went walking together.
I love walking and taking pictures of whatever oddities capture my attention. I was so taken by the view on the bike trail the other week that I almost got mowed down by 2 bicyclists who were moving quickly in their own lane. I had stepped into their path without thinking because I was entranced by the view beyond.
Whew …
Clueless.
I love when you share stories. I have done the same thing while walking because I am so engrossed in what I see instead of the rest of my surroundings. What a treat it would be to take a walk with you and capture some photos together!
I wish we lived close enough to go on a real walk together. Isn’t it glorious to clear away the mess of winter and be amazed at the beauty that comes with every spring? Somehow it’s always new and surprising, even after 50+ springs in the past!
Oh that would be so wonderful! I agree that now that spring is here I don’t ever want winter to come back. However, we jumped right into summer-like temperatures this week. But sunshine makes all the difference! I’m not sure what your spring looks like but the colors are so vibrant this year. Enjoy spring and I hope you find time to go walking.
Mary, thank you for taking me on this beautiful walk with both your words and photos! You brought to mind the words of the old hymn, “And he walks with me. And He talks with me, And He tells me I am his own; And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known.” May we keep walking and talking with Him each day! Grateful you reminded me to get out and walk 🙂
What is the name of the hymn you shared? The words are a perfect complement to this post. I pray you have time to walk and spend time with God this week.
Thanks for sharing your walk and your beautiful photos, Mary! I also find that going on a long walk is the perfect way to relax and to connect with God!
I love walking and I love having friends along too. Hope you have many opportunities this week to go out walking and find God along the way.