Learning to Walk – AGAIN.

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?…”  Isaiah 43:19

 

Germany did not like me when I first arrived.  It also didn’t seem to like me much in years 2 thru 12, but, you know, this girl takes some getting used to.  When I stepped off that plane in Europe I thought I was going to rock this… But, at age 23, as it turns out, I still had a few things left to learn.  I was surprised, however, that LEARNING HOW TO WALK AGAIN would be one of them.

Here is some wisdom I can now impart:

• You do NOT walk on the bike path – EVER – no matter how smooth and available it may be.  Because those bikes, their bells, and the perfectly fit people on them, will gladly ride right over top of you.
• You do not believe because you have walked for hours through, for example, Costco, that Bavarian hiking will somehow come naturally to your toothpick American legs.
• You do not, under any circumstance, ever ever ever cross the street on a red man.  You are to set an example for the children (whether there is a child nearby or not) and, if you don’t, people will yell at you – strangers will group yell at you.  If no one is around and no car can be found, you must stand there and wait for the green man, even still.  If you do not, someone, who is always watching, will yell from their apartment window.
• When walking your 7-pound Yorkie, you should be prepared for endless ridicule.  Because old women on the street will stop you to explain that the fact that your dog is ON a leash shows how crappy you are at owning a pet.
• You do not walk around in tennis shoes, even when touring for hours, because every person will naturally assume you are an American.
• There are certain times of the day when you do not walk with your children.  I was once stopped on the street by a stranger who needed directions to a nearby road in our village.  I helped her in my very best German, which was a kind and humble gesture on my part.  Then she proceeded to yell at me for having my baby out in the noon day sun.  The baby that was, btw, strapped on me in a bjorn with a cover over his entire body to keep him shaded.
• You DO walk to the grocery store, restaurants, schools, cinema … basically anywhere within a 30-minute walking radius.  In the event you are short on time, it is acceptable to take your bike (on the aforementioned provided bike path).

Who knew that just walking in Germany would be this complicated?   I’m proud to say that I pretty much do rock my walking nowadays, though.  If I haven’t opened my mouth, I totally can pull off the native Münchner stride.  After 12 years, I guess I’ve finally learned a thing or two.

As Christians, sometimes we need to get back to basics.  The principles we had down in one season of our life may need to be approached entirely differently in the next.  Don’t assume that your past experiences always translate perfectly into your current one.  Find out how God wants to use you THIS DAY.  Whether you have been doing this Christian walk for 80 years or for 8 days, God is DOING A NEW THING in you – all the time.  And, as you grow and change, what is required of you will also grow and change.  Don’t be so set in your ways that you miss how to do things better for the circumstance in which you now find yourself.

It may come as a surprise, but you just might need to learn to walk all over again.  And, if you do, I recommend wearing cute shoes and thick skin.  It helps.