Hey there! I'm still here! Friday, January 14, 2011

Hello everyone,

How are you?  I'm sorry that I have not written sooner.  No excuses, I just haven't written.

Before I left on The Walk, my fellow employees at the City of Fortuna pledged a dollar a mile for my walk.  This weekend I calculated that I had walked 553.3 miles from Ferndale to San Luis Obispo.  This Monday morning I went to the Monday morning safety meeting and announced my mileage.  They cut me a check for $553.30 right away!!  Isn't that great?  Thank you Fortuna Employees Association!   The next day I got it into the mail to Bob and Joyce Coder.  They were very appreciative because, if you have been following their blog, the Coder clan just moved to a bigger house.  The check will help them offset their moving expenses.

While I was at it, I inquired into how much money The Walk may have helped raise for the Coder children.  It turns out that it wasn't very much.  However, we don't know what the future holds.  There may still be someone who has it in their heart to help out financially.  The great news is that the Coders and their board of directors expressed their appreciation for what I did.  What is so great is that they expressed gratitude for how what I did may have helped uplift people along the way!  I know that it did.  I had the privilege of being there.  I had the pleasure of seeing them uplifted, and I had the pleasure of being uplifted by them.  So, it's not all about money now, is it?  It's about God's will being done.  When His will is done, we are all blessed.  Sure, I wished that more money would have been raised, and maybe it will be, but right now I am grateful for the experience.  Before I left, I knew that this walk was not just about the children, but was also about building my own faith and courage.  The Walk worked.  It did build my faith and courage.  But guess what?  They are still not perfect!  Probably never will be.  They are both like muscles- they need to be exercised.  And like muscles, if they are not regularly exercised, they will fade.  We climb a hill only to find a bigger one just beyond!!  A clue, hmmmmmm?!?  I realize now just how much I needed The Walk and the exercise of my faith and courage.  I am still in danger of getting "stalled in the city" as I have come to call it.  Getting stalled in the city is when I try to figure out the road ahead while staying in this city.  I try to figure out the obstacles and their solutions now, instead of when I confront them.  It is also a matter of losing a little bit of courage with each passing day while I wait.  If I wait too long, I won't leave the city- know what I mean?  The only solution is to have the faith to go ahead and step out, and trust that God will work out the solutions to the obstacles right when I come up against them.  I can say from the experience of my walk that He did come through- every time.  Now I find that I still have my doubts and fears.  Oh well, I am human, huh?  However, they aren't nearly as big as they once were though.  Hallelujah!!  If you want to know something that I am thankful for, it is that!  I find myself more brave and hopeful now than I have ever been before in my life!  I say Amen!

I said in an earlier blog that I would write about what I had learned along the way.  The above is one of the things I learned- so there you go.  I hope it helps you in your walk of faith.  I will write more.  There is plenty more to say.  I just hope that you will be patient with me and keep tuning in.  It will get interesting............


Love,
God bless,
Craig