And on the Sabbath . . .

Saturday, October 9

After attending a men's breakfast at Ogden Christian Fellowship with my son, I returned home and picked up Sandra and my grandson Eldon. I thought they would drop me off, but they volunteered to walk with me. At about 11 AM, we parked on 25th Street, just a inside the historic district. This was Sandra's first walk down 25th, and there really are so many things to see. But, we kept walking and I began praying following the pattern of the "Lord's Prayer."

We walked the north side of 25th to Wall, crossed the street and walked the south side in the opposite direction to Grant. I was relieved that I managed to keep Sandra out of the antique shops. Her comment as we reached Grant: "I can see why you've made so many comments about food . . . there are a lot of places to eat!"

Walking south on Grant, we stopped at the Wonder Bread Thrift Store. We bought a package of small chocolate donuts for Eldon . . . I resisted the cries of the fruit pies. As we walked, I pointed out all the places I have discovered during the previous six days. At the Salvation Army Thrift Shop, I said, "And here's where you can shop for new clothes, Sandra!" She was not impressed.

Passing in front of an old apartment building, we stopped to look at a small "yard sale". Sandra asked about a stack of plastic hangers, saying, "We just moved here and we need hangers." The lady asked where we were from . . . in a great conversation, we discovered that she was born and spent most of her life in El Centro, California. We talked, bought the hangers for $1, and with a "God bless you!" we proceeded on our prayer walk.

At the half way mark, near the car, Sandra and Eldon left me to walk alone.

My goal was to walk my course seven times. From my earlier walks, I knew each 2.5 mile lap would take about an hour. I walked, prayed, worshipped, prayed in tongues, and observed the city. I smiled and spoke to everyone I passed.

I noted that there were many people at the Mormon temple/tabernacle complex. I wondered what brought so many people together on a Saturday . . .

On my second lap, I found myself singing several songs . . . "You're the God of this city . . . there is no one like you, God . . . greater things are yet to come, and greater things are yet to be done in this city!"

And at the moment, I can't remember the other choruses that came to my memory from at least 15 years ago . . . but I enjoyed singing!

During my second lap, I found a baseball by a curb outside the Lindquist Stadium where the Ogden Raptors play . . . I grabbed the ball like a kid and carried it the rest of the day to give to my grandson. Later I realized that some people seemed a bit puzzled by the sight of a guy holding a Bible in one hand and a baseball in the other.

I varied my routes as before, keeping the length of each route the same by applying geometric principles . . . this enabled me to cover a lot of streets within the downtown area.

As my walking progressed, I became increasingly weary . . . and I prayed in tongues more and quoted scripture as it came to me. "The Lord is my Light and my Salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the Strength of my life . . . Lord, give me strength to finish the course!"

After three laps, I was really tired and sore . . . I couldn't feel my toes, but my toenails were screaming! I sat down near a bronze statue on the corner of Washington and 25th, rested my feet and stretched my legs . . . I read the passage from Acts telling of Paul's ministry in Athens and in Corinth. Somehow, I think ministry in Ogden may be a blend of those experiences. Ogden seems to have some people who place great confidence in their religious philosophy. Yet, there are many who are essentially pagan and profane. I took note of how long Paul ministered faithfully in Corinth.

I started my fourth lap at about 2:30 PM. I fought to keep from resting on a chair outside the Farr Better Ice Cream Parlour . . . I knew I couldn't rest in the chair without an ice cream cone. At the other side of downtown, I altered my course with the intention of buying a Lemon Pie at the Wonder Bread Thrift Store . . . at the last moment, I crossed the street and avoided direct contact with the source of my temptation.

When I finished my fourth lap, I knew I was finished physically. I don't remember ever walking 10 miles . . . I also realized that I will have to return to downtown Ogden as often as possible in the months ahead, not so much to walk, but to find ways to reach out to people with the wonderful message, "The Kingdom of Heaven is right here . . . reconsider your plan for living and believe the Good News!" People need the Lord!