When I walk, I think. I see things, I hear things, I muse about things, I wonder about things, I write things. In fact, I’m always writing, telling an inward story, a narrative, that sometimes emerges onto a computer screen or on paper.
The sight of so many withered leaves this morning recalled to my mind one of the first verses I ever memorized: Isaiah 64:6. “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” What a poetic image! A withered leaf hanging on a branch gets swept away by the wind, the same way our iniquities sweep us away. I think I memorized that verse to remind me of the universality of sin, and the futility of righteous deeds in accomplishing salvation for anyone. The only way to be cleaned up is in Christ. Filthy garments and withered leaves create quite a vivid picture in the mind, don’t they?
So, some fairly lofty thoughts going on there for a while as I walked in my heaviest winter coat with a scarf and warm hat to protect against the bitter cold. I often find winter walks more exhilarating than summer walks. I took a few photos of the things that caught my eye: church bells, a circle of Christmas bulbs that came up with the cold weather, the road ahead.
On my favorite part of the walk, a protected path that meanders by the cemetery, the regular sound of traffic was replaced by dull tappings of woodpeckers, a sharp conversation between two blue jays, a cheerful chickadee, a distant chain saw and the steady sound of my own footsteps. And I think to myself, what a wonderful God.
Thanks for joining me.
I’ll probably run a chain saw through this post in the morning.
Lynniebeemuseoday 
I felt like I was walking with you with your enchanting words and pictures. Thank you for the stroll.
Sent from my iPad
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