Stubbornness will get me nowhere. It only gets me going in circles, doing the same thing over and over again hoping to get my will. Insisting on receiving only what I want blocks me from God’s will and all of the beautiful things He has planned for me.
I hadn’t been open to Him on my prior walks. I didn’t care about the birds or the splash of the koi when they flopped awkwardly out of the pond (for reasons I still don’t understand.) I marched around that park, blocking everything out because my life had become unmanageable and I didn’t think anything could help me besides running away as fast as I could, blasting a different reality into my ears as I went.
When I removed my earbuds on the first day of my walks with God, it wasn’t only so I could concentrate on my conversation with God. Removing them was, in effect, removing my will. It was removing my insistence to hear only what I wanted to hear.
I began to listen, to settle enough to hear God speak. I heard the Holy Spirit within me and I experienced His creation speaking all around me. There is a catbird at the park who chatters at me incessantly. I want to know what he’s saying too.
Make me to know your ways oh Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. Psalm 25:4-5
Meeting God at the Park 