Somehow I just stopped walking. I stepped off the path and sat down on the ground. Looking back at the miles I’ve walked… and I just am sitting here. And I look ahead at the miles I’ve yet to go… and I am just sitting here… wondering how I get back up and keep walking. My feet are tired, so tired. The wind is blowing past me calling me to rise and keep on walking… but I’m just sitting here… “Why did I stop walking?” I’m wondering to myself, “How do I get up again?”

The pages I’ve filled lie behind me… and I’m just sitting here… and the blank pages ahead that I know I must fill. Oh, but my feet are so tired… so tired of walking. This grass feels so good beneath me. “What would happen to me if I just stopped walking?” I wonder to myself. “And what would happen to others if I just stopped walking?” I ponder. Oh, the wind is blowing, I know. The pages are waiting. The path ahead I must walk… I know. But I’m just sitting here… just wondering… “How do I get up and keep walking?”

I’m sure there is a prayer I must pray… but I can’t think of the words to say. I rub my feet… “When did I remove my shoes?” I wonder. “When did I even sit down?” I ponder.

I run my hand across the green grass… soft and so alive. I lay back and just let myself relax. The sky above is the brightest of blues. Oh, the wind is blowing… I know… it’s blowing… calling me to rise and walk again… but I’m just laying here.

I know You’re near. I can feel your presence still. I close my eyes and ask the questions I’ve been afraid to ask, “Why did I turn off the path? Why did I stop walking?” I wait for the answer I know will come.

A bird flies by on the wind. It glides so effortlessly up and then down… carried along on the wind… and I wished for one moment I could do the same… just do the same.

All around me I hear others… they cry out… and their cry is so loud in my ears… they call out, “Rise up and keep on walking!”

I want to scream the question… the question with no answer. The answer I can’t seem to find. I tap my feet is the warm grass to a beat that has no sound. I’m at peace here… finally at peace… laying here on this grass. “Just for another moment.” I think to myself. “Just a moment more of rest… then I’ll rise and walk on.” I wonder.

“I made this grass for you.” I hear You whisper near. Oh, Your voice is always so sweet. I think of the brook that gently passes by nearby… I hear its sounds. I hear the distant sound of the birds, bring me food, rich food. And I know that You sent them for me. “How much time has passed?” I wonder. “How long have I been lying here on this grass?” I ponder.

The sun passes overhead… and a feeling has come to me… it’s a foreign feeling and I try to place it… what is it?… oh… it’s happiness… the name I bear now… happiness. I’m happy. It’s been such a long, long time since I’ve been happy… I had forgotten what it felt like.

“I made this grass for You.” I hear You whisper again… and I know I’m the only one that can hear You. You and I are alone here.

I sit up and open my eyes and look out over the world. I see the people walking back and forth. They are going here and going there. They are working hard and struggling just to get by. And I wonder… I wonder… and I ponder.

“If I rise and walk on, will I find this grass again?” I ask You. “Will I be happy again?” I wonder. “Will I feel this grass under my feet again?” I ponder.

Then You surprise me… You say, “You haven’t stopped walking. You’re walking still.” And I realize that I am walking still… walking on… only it’s not me walking. You’re carrying me. I look behind and I see the pages filled with words I never said… and I see the blank pages ahead… and they are filled with words I haven’t said yet. “When did I write them?” I wonder. “When did You write them?” I ponder.

So, the journey continues… from this happy grass… from this peaceful place… from this place beneath the bright blue sky… alone with You. This place on the grass where the brook runs by and the ravens fly. This secret place with You.