I started to think about the coaches words of wisdom. If your feet are pointed in two different directions you will not be able to get where you are going. Practical advice. My brain mingled these thoughts with my own personal walk with God. What are the paths that my feet try to walk down simultaneously with my walk with God? The path of easy. The path of personal preference. The path of good enough. The path of me first.
God requires both feet in the same direction. Total dedication. I was working with Micah the other day on learning the number 5. I instructed him to go and pick out 5 different colored crayons so that we could do an art project. He came back with 5 different shades of orange. He had one foot pointed towards the "listening" path and one pointed towards the "everything must be orange" path. He was not all in.
God gives us many opportunities to be all in. Often, instead of pointing both of our feet down God's path we try to walk in two different directions. We try to figure out how we can please God but keep it within our own boundaries. We try to do what He asks but do it "our" way. For growth to take place we must be willing to go outside of our comfort zone.
Why is it that we seem to fall into this false illusion that God asking us to do something difficult means that He can not be trusted? Page after page in scripture we see difficult situations presented and God's faithfulness winning out. Look at Joshua. His story in scripture is so outside the box. Imagine what you would have done if God told you to assemble your army and start marching circles around your enemy. Don't touch them. Don't bring extra ammunition. Just march circles.
It was not the easy path. And it could not have been accomplished with one foot facing another direction. Joshua's army was all in. They marched those circles and when God said to "yell out" they yelled out and God tumbled the wall. What if they had quietly strolled around that wall? What if instead of yelling they just quietly whispered so that others didn't look and point?
Where in my life are my feet pointed in two different directions? Where am I trying to fit God into my own rules? Where can I give up control so that I can go deeper in relationship with the creator of the universe? It starts with a small step. It starts with twisting my foot around to join my other foot and it takes practice. Old habits are hard to beat and it does not always happen without a fight. As I go back to the gym each day I get those gentle reminders as the trainer yells across the room, "Andi, feet!!". The trainer is on my side but he is not willing to let me half do my workout. He reminds me what I am fighting for. Just as I need accountability in my workout we also need accountability in our walk with God.
Sharing our goals and desires for growth with other believers who are willing to do the "hard" with us is called fellowship. We were not made to walk these paths alone. We need others along side us to help us keep our feet pointed in the same direction. As we encourage others in their walk with God we too are encouraged. And as others encourage us we find that we are not alone. We find that there are others who have stories like Joshua. Others who God has asked to go outside their comfort zone and find deeper relationship. It requires trust and guts. It requires willingness. And at 6:30 in the morning at the gym, it requires a trainer hollering out , "Andi! Feet".
