Lessons learned while walking

Living in LA with no car has been a humbling experience. Although riding the bus and walking is not my idea of a good time, I am actually grateful for this time with no wheels. This with-out-a-car experience has taught me a few life lessons and has also helped me remember some lessons I learned a while back.

Lessons like getting up early every morning running - or in my case walking. The buses are crowded in the morning and everyone is trying to get to work. If I don't get to the bus stop early, there may not be room for me to ride. We all know that missing the bus or being left out in life is no fun, so I make sure that I'm up early every morning power-walking, because the bus waits on no one.

Lessons like being faithful over a little. Every morning on my walk to the bus stop I tell God that I may not have a car at the moment, but I thank you for these shoes.

Lessons like being grateful and counting your blessings. Every day I look into the faces of people on the bus who just look tired and beaten down by life. I always wonder "what's his story?" or "where has she been?" Then I think that some of these people may have never even owned a car. Maybe riding the bus is all they ever knew. At lease, I knew something different. I knew the feeling of driving my own car, and I'll know it again. I am grateful for that.

Lessons like being hungry enough to walk. I think back to the summer of 2006 when I was interning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with no car. Everyday I depended on my supervisor to take me to lunch. One day she decided not to go to lunch, and so I starved (not literately of course.) When lunch time came around the next day and my supervisor was no where to be found, I decided that I would take matters into my own hands, and I walked two miles in the summer heat - in a suit - to find something to eat. I remember my co-workers saying they couldn't believe I walked. The walk was uncomfortable of course, but my hunger was stronger than the heat. When you are really hungry for something in life, you'll do things that others won't do, but in the end you'll receive the greater reward.

Life's journey is full of messages and lessons. Things that we can grow and prosper from if we simply take the time to look and appreciate what God is trying to tell us and what he's trying to teach us. I think that maybe discomfort, hardships, and trials are simply courses in life that God has enrolled us in. Some take the time to learn - others complain about how hard the course is. It's up to you to learn the lesson which will ultimately prepare you for the test. No one said the test will be easy, but if you pay attention in class, you will be prepared.