By Glenn Koster
Walking Through Life
One of the realities of walking through life is that you will often encounter difficulties that will leave you scratching your head and mumbling, “What happened?” On occasion, those difficulties will simply be a minor setback. Other times, those difficulties will require tremendous changes to your plans. As I have been walking across Michigan, I have experienced both. The key is how you respond.
The first difficulty that I experienced happened back on July 8. During the course of my walk from Kalkaska to Walton, I noticed some severe pain in my lower back. I ended my day early by calling Charlcie to come pick me up. I was only 2 miles short of my target for the day, so I figured I could easily rest and make it up. We ended up in the emergency room in Cadillac that evening, where I was diagnosed with arthritis in my lower back. They prescribed a back brace to wear as I continued my journey. We also decided that since I had built some “emergency” days into my schedule, I also took July 9 off. I resumed walking on July 10, but skipping the short distance from Walton to Cadillac.
The next difficulty was a bit more troublesome. On Tuesday, July 21, I was walking along a very busy two-lane road when traffic ballooned. Many of those cars had trouble staying in the lane of traffic and continued to veer onto the shoulder. I opted to step off the shoulder into some very tall grass until the rush of traffic settled down. Unfortunately, that proved to be a bad choice as I stepped onto a hidden log in the grass and went rolling. When I managed to get up, I noticed some dizziness and trouble keeping my balance. I rested until I felt I could go on.
Alas, I could not really go on. I called Charlcie and asked her to meet me at our emergency meeting spot about 3 miles up the road. It was a McDonald’s that I had previously identified as the only spot Charlcie could easily get the RV into.
I set out but ended up in considerable pain. After about a half mile, I found a spot where she could pull in and pick me up. I called Charlcie and told her I would be waiting for her. When she arrived, we drove to McDonald’s where we talked and decided to cancel the rest of the walk for Tuesday.
Meanwhile, we set out on a second trip to the ER. After CAT scans and X-rays, the doctor determined that there was no permanent damage. Some painkillers were prescribed. However, I realized that I could not safely carry my much-needed walking stick. So, we agreed to continue the planned route by driving it.
The third major setback occurred Thursday morning, July 23. Since we were driving, our schedule had changed. I decided to call the church where I planned to finish this coming Sunday. In attempting to make that connection, I learned that the former Calvary Baptist Church in Hazel Park, which had supported me so strongly in 1963 when my first adoption was failing so miserably, closed permanently last month. There would be no “ending point” of significance. We changed our plans and opted to head east to Pennsylvania and West Virginia a bit earlier than planned.
The lessons that I have learned from all of this are numerous. First, we must always be ready to change our plans for life and for our big endeavors because we never know what might happen to change those. Secondly, we must always be willing to change our methods if necessary. Thirdly, we must be willing to accept that sometimes our best laid plans will not be able to be completed.
However, the biggest (and most important) lesson that we need to learn is to rely on God. Sometimes, He will simply be reminding us that His plans are different than ours, which is where I was after both visits to the emergency room. Yet, we must also be willing to accept that His plans are unknown yet. When we realize this, then we must be willing to accept His authority and His plans—even (or especially) if the answer is still down the road.
What lies ahead now simply waits to be seen.
Glenn Koster is a former reporter, a retired pastor, and a retired IT professional who spends most of his time now walking and working with various Reno County non-profits. He can be reached at Glenn.Koster@gmail.com or by phone at 620-960-4492.