Runway Walk - Pt 7

No, Grammy! - Walk Just Like This...

My younger daughter-in-law is only about 5’2” on a good day.  To compensate, she wears heels, sometimes, that are taller than my hand is long.  Recently, I was playing dress-up with my granddaughters when they hauled out the heels and asked me to wear an especially high pair of heels.  Nicole and I wear the same size of shoe, so I could not use shoe size as an excuse to avoid putting them on.  As I contorted my feet into a painful position which only reassured me that the shoes had been designed by a man, I tried to stand up in them.  That presented a problem.  

When I turned fifty, I noticed that the entire world began to tilt.  I could be standing perfectly still and could lose my balance.  Since then, I have been assured by other women who are 50+ that this is, indeed, a phenomenon of nature.  It is seldom discussed, never by men, but, nonetheless, it is a fact of life.  So, when I tried to stand in these heels, I had to make sure that I stood near something which could break the fall, if needed.  My granddaughters, six and four, were laughing, hysterically, and Nicole was trying, not particularly successfully, to smother her chuckles, as well.  I am grateful that Heidi Klum was not there to watch the painful process.  I have no doubt I will never be allowed anywhere close to Project Runway.  Suddenly, my six-year-old granddaughter recovered sufficiently from her hysterics to grab the heels.  As she tucked her precious, perfect little feet into those shoes, she turned to me, hand on hip, and said, “Now, Grammy, just watch me, and I will show you exactly how to walk.  Walk just like me.”  She glided across the floor, turned, handed me the heels, and said, “Now, you try it.  Walk just like I showed you.”

In trying to understand the practical call of God to walk just like Jesus walked, the book of Ephesians explains that our lives should demonstrate the character of Christ.  As we walk on the runway of life, we are to live a life of humility, love, and light.  In following a life of Christ’s character, as explained by God’s Word, most decisions are made for us.  Years ago, there was a wristband made popular in Christian circles by the initials WWJD?  Those simple letters were filled with meaning:  What Would Jesus Do? 

In Ephesians 5:15, God tells His children to walk the runway in circumspection, or like-mindedness.  In the Greek, the term means most exactly, straightest.  In other words, just like this…  No discussion is necessary, no questions are unanswered, and the path is marked.  Isaiah 30:21 says, This is the way; walk in it; don’t turn right or left, just keep walking.  My granddaughter understood.  She knew I needed instruction.  She knew I needed a model.  She was willing to help me learn, patient to show me, again and again, but sure of exactly how to do it.  Nike really didn’t come up with the phrase, just do it!

When my brother served in Viet Nam, minefields created grave danger to American soldiers.  One of the responsibilities of the scouts was to identify the minefield, looking for any signs of the dirt having been disturbed, any evidence of brush being cleared, or any other indication of the mines which marked certain death for those coming behind.  As the scouts painstakingly marked the clear areas, safe for the movement of the troops following, each soldier coming behind had a decision to make.  He could veer off course, with devastating results, or he could follow in the path that had been clearly marked and which boldly declared, This area has been cleared by those who were willing to give their lives for me.  You can wander from the way I have marked, but it will be at great peril, or you can walk this way…

It may seem challenging to walk the runway of life in a way that consistently declares the worth of Jesus Christ.  However, as it says in Ephesians 2:10, God has called us all to a specific path that identifies us with His only Son, Jesus Christ.  It is a path of protection, purpose, and power.  Sometimes, it is difficult, but to walk on the runways of our own choosing can be far more painful, filled with pride, bitterness, unexpected falls, snakes, and unseen dangers. 

Wherever you may find yourself walking right now, look back over your shoulder.  Who is following you?  Are you comfortable leading them where you are going?  Are you leading them to humility, love, light, and wisdom, or are you leading them to a place of danger and destruction?  Do you love them enough to say, Follow me, my precious ones, and I will walk in such a way as to lead you straight to the feet of Jesus?

© 2010 Gerry Sisk