I wrote this entire post out on my husbands phone two days ago and just before I could post it the phone died, only to restart immediately. And I was writing so smoothly and beautiful. I still want to share what I was going to share, but it may sound nothing like my first attempt. Here goes:
My husband and I walk most of the places we need to go. He pushes Alexander in the pram and I have Beatrice strapped to me chest. The walking is not our first choice. Up until mid last year we had a car. It was stolen and our insurance didn't pay out enough for us to buy anything decent, so we decided to wait. We also knew that God was giving us the first big lesson in our road to financial health and good finacial stewardship and that was not to go into debt by taking a loan. So we walk.
The walking as been both amazing for us and hard. We have been exposed to so many different things that flying past in a car we have almost always missed. At an intersection near where we live we pass a group of men waiting for work. They are manual labourers who work in construction, but I think they will do anything if someone just stops to hire them. We say hello and they say hello in return, but it is Alexander who, with the innocence of a child, welcomes them into frienship. These grown men get so happy to see my lttle boy.
They also seem to be fascinated by Emiel's long hair. As we pass them we turn into Main Road. Here we are reminded that our town has history as we pass over a very old (I have yet to dicover the history) bridge. We normally walk to my parents house again passing men waiting for work. The walk is pleasant and familiar and Alexander gets excited because he knows where he is going. From Granny and Grampa's house we walk to Spar, I love my Spar (a small supermarket) and the DVD store. We sometimes walk past my darling friend Lucy's house or past my sister's school. There are some very pretty elements to my town. After doing our shopping we take a leisurely stroll down the main raod home.
What you can't escape with walking is how much brokeness there is. There are so many people diggin through the rubbish bins on Thurdays when they are out on the street waiting to be emptied. For the rest of the week these same people are under bushes, pushing trolley's filled with their belongings or propped up against trees. It really is heart-breaking. There is a new thing in our town, youngsters who have chosen a life of drugs, living on the streets. There is one particular young man who we have watched for a bunch of months getting worse. He has gone from a clean cut (not that clean cut means too much to me) young man to a guy who skin looks stained by the sun and not washing regularly. He is someone's son, brother, friend. The last time I saw him he was in clean clothes and his blonde hair must have been washed, but he was also so high we was dancing to a tune only he could hear. I hate drugs. Both my husband and I have family members who have been damaged by drugs.
The walking has also made us very aware of the millions of people in this country who use public transport (it is not great) or walk. Life is not easy for these people. When you need to be somewhere on time and you are walking or using public transport your time is not yours. In my car driving existence, if want to be somewhere you get in your car and off you go. If you are walking add half and hour to what may have been a 10 min drive.
We had had a car that we were not grateful for. The car had been a present. When it was just the two of us the car was fine, but as or family increased we decided it wasn't good enough. Before this car I had a gold mini that had been my great-granny's car. Again I was ungrateful and all that I could see was that I had a car I felt was too small for me (I'm tall) and didn't see I had a car that took me places I needed to go. When It was stolen I could barely hold in the happiness. Wow. So we walk. And we grow, because we talk and talk. And our children are happy, because Alexander would rather be outside the cooped up anyday. And Beatrice is close to me.
So we walk. The funniest thing is I have always loved walking. It makes me happy and I do it well.
My husband and I walk most of the places we need to go. He pushes Alexander in the pram and I have Beatrice strapped to me chest. The walking is not our first choice. Up until mid last year we had a car. It was stolen and our insurance didn't pay out enough for us to buy anything decent, so we decided to wait. We also knew that God was giving us the first big lesson in our road to financial health and good finacial stewardship and that was not to go into debt by taking a loan. So we walk.
The walking as been both amazing for us and hard. We have been exposed to so many different things that flying past in a car we have almost always missed. At an intersection near where we live we pass a group of men waiting for work. They are manual labourers who work in construction, but I think they will do anything if someone just stops to hire them. We say hello and they say hello in return, but it is Alexander who, with the innocence of a child, welcomes them into frienship. These grown men get so happy to see my lttle boy.
They also seem to be fascinated by Emiel's long hair. As we pass them we turn into Main Road. Here we are reminded that our town has history as we pass over a very old (I have yet to dicover the history) bridge. We normally walk to my parents house again passing men waiting for work. The walk is pleasant and familiar and Alexander gets excited because he knows where he is going. From Granny and Grampa's house we walk to Spar, I love my Spar (a small supermarket) and the DVD store. We sometimes walk past my darling friend Lucy's house or past my sister's school. There are some very pretty elements to my town. After doing our shopping we take a leisurely stroll down the main raod home.
What you can't escape with walking is how much brokeness there is. There are so many people diggin through the rubbish bins on Thurdays when they are out on the street waiting to be emptied. For the rest of the week these same people are under bushes, pushing trolley's filled with their belongings or propped up against trees. It really is heart-breaking. There is a new thing in our town, youngsters who have chosen a life of drugs, living on the streets. There is one particular young man who we have watched for a bunch of months getting worse. He has gone from a clean cut (not that clean cut means too much to me) young man to a guy who skin looks stained by the sun and not washing regularly. He is someone's son, brother, friend. The last time I saw him he was in clean clothes and his blonde hair must have been washed, but he was also so high we was dancing to a tune only he could hear. I hate drugs. Both my husband and I have family members who have been damaged by drugs.
The walking has also made us very aware of the millions of people in this country who use public transport (it is not great) or walk. Life is not easy for these people. When you need to be somewhere on time and you are walking or using public transport your time is not yours. In my car driving existence, if want to be somewhere you get in your car and off you go. If you are walking add half and hour to what may have been a 10 min drive.
We had had a car that we were not grateful for. The car had been a present. When it was just the two of us the car was fine, but as or family increased we decided it wasn't good enough. Before this car I had a gold mini that had been my great-granny's car. Again I was ungrateful and all that I could see was that I had a car I felt was too small for me (I'm tall) and didn't see I had a car that took me places I needed to go. When It was stolen I could barely hold in the happiness. Wow. So we walk. And we grow, because we talk and talk. And our children are happy, because Alexander would rather be outside the cooped up anyday. And Beatrice is close to me.
So we walk. The funniest thing is I have always loved walking. It makes me happy and I do it well.
Wisdom! People speed through life, neglecting to see all the blessing that they have and also the pain the others experience. When God slows us down it is such a precious time to focus on what He sees as important
ReplyDeleteThank you Kim. Hope you are well.I appreciate your comment. God is doing such a work in us.
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