On my walk this morning, I passed an older man with an older dog. The dog wasn’t out front or sniffing around – he wasn’t frisky, just slowly following behind the man, who barely held the leash. The dog didn’t even look up at me when they passed. He was just looking ahead, like, “This is who I walk with. This is what we do.” And I found myself imagining the whole arc of their life together. This same man probably walked that dog when it was a puppy, tugging on the leash and full of energy. All the middle years too, when they had their rhythm and their routine. And now here they are, having shared a lot of life, still doing the same walk, just at a different pace. Something about that got me – just seeing how a long companionship can stay intact, even when everything slows down. It made me think of love that doesn’t disappear just because the pace changes, but quietly adapts and keeps walking with you. And it reminded me of yesterday’s sermon – how the Lord is our secret place of intimacy, the One who walks with us through every season. He doesn’t rush ahead or fall behind. He just stays with us.
Leave a Reply