I was going home, got off the train, wasn’t going to grab the bus, neither was I driving home, I didn’t even park my car in the train station car park, it is at home. I’ve got to strengthen these legs and heart, my mind needs clearing out, the 20 minutes walk home does wonder for my whole being. It’s not just a good idea but a survival strategy. Anyway as I powered on I saw from the distance someone I have made her a LMmlllllllllfx acquaintance, a lady that lives about 10mins from me, she lives half way between my house and the train station.
As I drew closer, she was sitting by the roadside, it had started drizzling now and I wondered why she would sit on the roadside on a dirty rickety chair that someone had abandoned. The chair is an interesting part of this story. Without a doubt the chair was a ‘once was’ it had all the tell tale signs of a chair that graced an opulent home, covered with expensive tan real leather, holding on tightly to the meagre reminants of grace and diginity of it’s past glories. With two shaky legs, the other two were gone, it was clear it would collapse any time from now. It could neither carry its own weight or the weight of the woman sitting on it, it was just a matter of time and I mean a short time.
I approached the lady and asked her why she wouldn’t get up and walk home, it was drizzling anyway and the chair would kapow any time. She told me her legs were too weak! They couldn’t carry her home, that she would slump. I tried to explain that the chair was a facade, it couldn’t carry her weight either. She sighed and then said ‘it is my fault’ I couldn’t understand, so I asked what she meant, by this time I had helped her up and we were sort of dragging ourselves home. She told me how her late husband use to encourage her to walk and strengthen her leg and her whole body in general, but she was too lazy and never listened, instead she would insist and kick a fuss if he doesn’t hurl or chauffeur her where ever she needed to go. We heard a ‘bang’ noise, looked back and there goes the sendforth of our ‘I use to be very important and eminent posterior sat on me’ chair as it collapsed. As we reached her house the lady shuffled herself to her front door, promising to do whatever it takes to put strength into her legs.
As I continued home, I couldn’t help thinking, that how many times as human beings do we find ourselves leaning on unreliable sources in areas where we are weak. The onus is on us as adults with our mental wherewithal to will to power, to transcend ourselves, to build and strengthen those legs, otherwise we will finding ourselves sitting on unsustainable surfaces in the rain. Leg here does not just mean physical legs but every aspect of our lifes that requires strengthening, be it spirtual, emotional, psychological, relational, financial etc
I do not write as a veteran but someone in training, who constantly interrogate her life to check, where am I leaning, sitting on ‘past it’s time’ chair? Blessed is the man that sits not on his laurels but keeps strengthening those legs!
Beautiful Ivory 