My senior year of college I lived next door to a beautiful old church with a tall bell tower. Every fifteen minutes part of the ever familiar tune would ring, and at the top of each hour the town would be serenaded with the complete melody followed by a slow, steady set of deep rings indicating the time. I found I needed my clocks less that year. In fact, even though I could not always recall hearing the bell, I seemed to have a rather accurate idea of what time it was consistently.

These days I don't have such a steady reminder, but every morning I experience a routine on my drive to work which helps me determine if I'm late or not. Ideally, I will pull out of my driveway, pass the bus a few moments before it stops at the bottom of the hill, pass the three ladies on their walk as they are passing the garden supply store, and catch the last parking spot in the lot behind our building. If I don’t see the bus, or the ladies are passing the supermarket, I know I’m late.

This routine has been comfortable, steady, and accurate… until Walking Lady showed up. There is a woman who walks. And not just a casual saunter, but a speed walk -- with a walking stick. She goes everywhere, erratically, with seemingly no final destination or purpose. She seems to be everywhere, at different times, walking different directions. In fact, I’ve seen her change directions so abruptly, I have been left wondering how she didn’t topple over from the momentum in her turns. And yet none of this bothers me as much as her stick.

Walking Lady has a walking stick. A very official looking stick constructed of twisted wood which she drags along with her. Yet never have I once seen her use the stick. It is simply dragged behind her, scraping the ground and painfully bouncing over each bump and crack on the sidewalk. And so I have been left wondering why she drags a perfectly good stick around with her. Why does she have a tool designed to help her, and yet instead, she lets it drag behind her and weigh her down. And then I realized that I am the worst “Walking Lady” of them all.

Walking Lady and I have a lot in common. We rush around, often retracing our steps, dragging things behind us which have the potential to help, but which we allow to become a burden.  Whether it is emotional baggage, a tangible item, or something else, we all do it. In fact, I was thinking about my bible and how I carry it around with me. I have a little pocket bible that I keep with me or in my car most of the time. And yet, so often, when I’m stressed out and confused, I fail to utilize the good gift God has given me.

We have an almighty Creator God who loves us and who has given us each a walking stick -- His word. When we are out and about in the craziness of life, rather than simply dragging scripture along, we ought to be exercising it, using it, loving it, and keeping it out in front of us.

Think about the good things in your life. Think about the many blessings you have received. Think about the people you know, the opportunities you experience, and the skills you have been blessed with. How can you better utilize each? How can you be a better steward of these things?

Don’t be a Walking Lady, letting good things drag behind you as a hindrance rather than a blessing.

What are some of the walking sticks in your life?

Liam Morris is a skinny Irish guy, exiled to Western Massachusetts, who specializes in business development and web/social media marketing.  He plays guitar (piano occasionally) and is "lead bad dancer" for the worship team at MercyHouse, a growing church on the campus of UMass Amherst.