Walking and Sitting
Be still and know that I am God. –Psalm 46:10
When I was in junior high and high school, I walked about two miles to and from school up and down the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in eastern Washington state. I had a pretty chaotic childhood being raised by a mentally unstable, divorced mother of four, so the walks did a lot to focus and calm me for the day ahead. I passed our Methodist church on the way and sometimes I would slip into the sanctuary – nothing was locked up back then – and just sat.
As I have looked back on that time in my growing up, I have been astonished how those walks and sitting in the sanctuary helped me through hands-down the roughest years of my life. This helped me not to be cowed by life’s craziness. Fortunately I went away for college and into a new life – although until graduate school, I did have to go home for the summers to work.
I still walk today, so I know the therapeutic value of fresh air and exercise, and still remember the value of sitting quietly in prayer and meditation, no matter where.
Vivian Anderson
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