Tag: walking

Healthy Walking- part three. Experience Your neighborhood

Post author By Maggie Marcum
Post date August 26, 2026
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Sometimes it’s just about the Walk.

Sometimes it’s just feeling a cool breeze and noticing things around us—checking out our neighborhood and hearing sounds central to our community. I love an early morning walk while the air is still cool and the birds are just waking. The glimmer of the new-day sun reminds me of all the possibilities ahead.

There’s a lot of construction going on around our neighborhood and it makes me smile to watch all of the workers coming in and doing what they do. Usually there is laughter, the beeping of a truck as it backs up, or the clang of the metal detour signs setting in place. All the sounds of a neighborhood coming to new life and opportunities.

It’s simple the things that we can be curious about when we walk and keep our eyes open to notice the “normal.” Do you know how many different kinds of cars are parked on a busy street?? I look at the cars and I wonder who the drivers are and what brought them to the neighborhood. Do they live here? Are they visiting? Do they work here? What assumptions am I making about them because of their car??

We are fortunate to have places scattered about to sit and rest and watch the day unfold. We have several areas with fountains. I love the refreshing sounds of the water running. For me, I find peace in the ripple of water. Imagine sitting here having lunch in the afternoon, watching the waterfall and the construction crews building from the designs that they were given. Each day it’s a little bit new and I look forward to seeing their finished project.

My mile walk brings me past the local restaurants, coffee shops, and the nursery. One more statue with running water that captures my attention as I peak down the aisles to see what new plants are emerging. The morning is too early for stores to be open and it’s the perfect time to stroll through town looking in all the windows.

As I head home, the building in which I live is coming back to life. Kids are getting ready for school. Adults are packing their lunches and bags for their busy day at work. The retirees are stretching and coming down to start their own walks. The day has begun, and I am grateful to be a part of it.

I hope you will take time to look around your neighborhood and see the sites that maybe you have just walked by. I’m learning to appreciate all that God has created, even through the humans that are building them. May your day be filled with joy and peace as you breathe in Yahweh Beauty and out that which you don’t need to carry into the day.

Tags breathe prayer, Buddy the Dog, construction worker, dog walking, fountain, garden, lighter walk, McLean, morning walk, neighborhood, new day, new life, nursery, retired, shop local, sunrise, walking, water therapy

Aging in Grace Transformation Stories

Healthy Walking: Part 2, Take the Walk

Post author By Maggie Marcum
Post date August 22, 2026
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Previously, I wrote about my reframing walk and acceptance of who I am at this stage of my aging life. Walking is my healing grace. It’s where I meet The Divine for long conversations about my life, relationships, and my place in the world.

Healthy Walking- part three. Experience Your neighborhood

I am fortunate enough to live in a town where I can walk to expansive neighborhoods, to the grocery store, or local restaurants. It is uplifting to stop at the outdoor market or roam through the little privately owned shops. Go local if you can and support struggling small businesses. Get to know the owners and learn their story.

I remember growing up in Germany and on Saturdays my mom and I would take off for the bakery or for the little shops around where we lived. I’ll always have a tender spot for Saturdays and cream puffs. As a teenager we always ate in little restaurants and would pop in and out of the shops-sometimes just exploring what was new and plotting what to save our babysitting money to buy. I still love browsing through the small shops as if walking in a museum, enjoying creations…that I can pick up!

My walking always leads me to thinking about where I am going, or where I am leaving. Frequently I find myself discussing this with The Divine and apologizing for mistakes and seeking forgiveness. I pray for help and wisdom to transition from one season to another.

So often we look back on our life and list our regrets. We can reflect on our years of living and be flooded with positive, or negative memories. As I walked through the neighborhood near the apartments where I live, I saw beautiful grand homes. It made me sad to think of what I had “lost” for various reasons, including some bad financial decisions I made. I no longer own a house as a result of my choices and trusting some people whom I should not have. I have said for years that I “lost” everything in those unstable times. I used to think I was such a loser and I lived with shame and embarrassment and a sense that I had squandered what God had provided.

I want to reframe that story and to now simply say: “I no longer have those things. They were season in my life that came to an end.” I will likely never own a home again, unless something miraculous happens. And that’s OK. I was a little bit of a nomad growing up – moving every two or three years and I think I have continued that pattern for most of my life. Now it’s renting instead of owning, which gives me flexibility. It may not be as economically sound as some of my homeowner friends tell me, but that’s alright. This is the season in which I am living. I am part of a community that includes folks who have made the decision to live like me and it is kind of fun to share our stories of homeowner trappings and relief!

Lean into being healthy by taking care of your heart and soul. Find the process and place where you connect with The Divine and build new life-giving patterns. For me, this summer that has been water. I am blessed to have a pool in our apartment complex and I get to spend a lot of time just soaking in the water, looking up at the clouds and reimagining the stories that they tell. Did you ever do that as a kid? Do it again! Lay down and look at the images of the clouds and let God unfold a new story for you. Never lose that child-like nature that we’ve been given.

Keep seeking replenishment, refreshment, and renewal. Be open to the change and growth that is awaiting.

I encourage you to reframe the way you look at your life and instead of losses and mistakes, maybe we can just look at it as the seasons of our life and be content with that. Seasons bring ends and they bring starts. Seasons are letting go and grabbing onto the unknown.

Hopefully, we can look back and bring joy and peace into past painful times, and know that God has repurposed those times for good. They are just times, but not wasted times. If we look at them as times of growth, and opportunities to expand our world, then we have real life. May it be so for you. May you be free of regrets and “should-haves” and refreshed in a new season of what the Creator has provided for today.

In humble peace.

Tags change, clouds, forgiveness, lighter walks, loc, retirement, seasons, The Divine, walking

Aging in Grace Transformation Stories

Healthy Walking: Reframing Past Memories (part 1)

Post author By Maggie Marcum
Post date August 18, 2026
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I ventured out today for what I thought would be a relatively short and normal walk. I wanted to explore a church nearby and see what the grounds look like, hoping to find a quiet bench to sit with The Holy One. There wasn’t one, but I did get to see neighbors helping neighbors through a food-distribution program. What a gift we can be to others when we are willing to see the need and answer the call to help.

As I walked through the parking lot and down towards the road, I found myself in a neighborhood tucked in behind the church that I had never seen before. I wondered how many other things I have missed in my town as I zip in and out for work or errands.

Soon, I was walking behind a lady who obviously knew where she was going, so I kind of followed behind her as if she were my heaven-sent guide. I found myself over by the elementary school and a baseball diamond. As I walked around the yard and walked toward the diamond, it caused me to remember what it was like when I was 13 or 14 and had “blossomed” into a rather heavy young woman. My sweet neighbor would take me over to our soccer field and we would run the track every day during the summer. My mom took me to a dietitian, and I learned how to eat better. At least I had balanced meals, which is I guess what it’s really all about. I lost the weight and became more comfortable with myself and others.

All this gave me pause to think about things differently, to think about my past, as I often do on these walks, and what God is showing me today. Be healthy. Be stronger. We aren’t done yet! Journey on- there is more to see and do.

As I reflected back on those times, I realized I couldn’t run that track today. At my age, the body just doesn’t work like it used to, and that’s a little frustrating. The Spirit then shifted my thinking: “I’m not going to live in that frustration. I want to live where I am, in this aging body and take good care of it.” So I walked the track around the diamond remembering that every step was a step toward strength and renewal.

My new goal is to walk two miles-a day and to keep adding distance to get in better physical shape. It gives me time to also chat with The Divine as I trot along. Some friends of mine are getting ready to walk the Camino in October. I have another dear friend and his wife, who walk The Walk quite frequently. I love their stories of wandering enlightenment. I love the people that they meet on the road and just the way that it bonds them closer in the process. I’m in no shape to go on such a walk yet, but as my friends share how they are gearing up for eight-mile walks each day—or is it eight-hour days-I am encouraged to join them in their preparations. At first I felt a little jealous that I don’t yet get to take the walk; however, I’m not ready physically or spiritually. So the solution I have embraced is: “Get ready, girlfriend and create your own pilgrimage in the meantime!”

A friend created a playlist for their pilgrimage preparation and walk and now some of us staying behind are connected to them through the music they listen to. If we think outside if our disappointments we can discover solutions that fill our lives, right where we are. Be creative in how you join in, especially when you think you can’t.

Take the pilgrimage right where you are. Get out of the car, and explore your neighborhood. Drive to that park you keep passing on your way to work, and get out and explore all that nature has for you. Get a walking buddy, better yet get a walking crew. Do what you can do from where you are and if you can’t walk for physical reasons, find a group you can support with words of encouragement and prayers. If we are intentional enough, we can keep building community everywhere we go, and in that community, if we are fortunate enough, we may even find a way to let the past be in the past to embrace where we are today.

Peace be with you on your journey.

Tags aging, boomer, camino, church, community, courage to change, Holy Spirit, lighter walk, motivate, neighborhood, personal development, pilgrimage, spiritual journey, walking

Living Loving Serving The Lighter Walk

The Slow Walk

Walking with Buddy is teaching me to walk differently. So many times I get out on the path and I’m just trying to get my steps in and make sure I’m building muscles in my legs and slimming down my waist. That doesn’t happen when you walk with a dog!

I’m learning from Buddy to stop and look around and see what there is to see. He loves to stop at every tree and sniff the bark. That causes me to pause and look at all the ridges in the trees and at the roots of the tree which support it. It gives me time to reflect on creation’s beauty in fine detail.

He waddles along joyfully down the path until something again catches his eye or catches his nose. We stop again for him to explore what it is. I’m learning now to stop and look at what it is, instead of waiting impatiently for him to finish his Sniff of the Minute. Off we go again, trucking down the sidewalk, at dog pace.

He will stop at the rustle of a leaf. Sometimes it just startles him, and sometimes he has to go stomp it to see if it will crunch under his foot. It reminds me of the seasons in which we live our lives, ever-changing pieces falling off as new branches and leaves are growing in. Relationships changing, life evolving. I marvel at the change from season to season. We walk along and I wonder what will it be like when winter comes, because we haven’t walked in the winter together yet. It is a sense of anticipation and of dread. Ah life!

He slows me down and gives me time to look up at the sky. He slows me down and gives me time to catch the steeple down the road glistening in the moonlight. Sometimes we just have to sit at the bench too because he loves to sit at the bench and people watch and so we sit and we watch and say “hello “ as only a chihuahua can.

This is when I find myself seeking the presence of God and almost missing it. Just because I live in a “city environment” doesn’t mean I can’t see God here. I can find the creator in the magnificence of a tree built against the side of a building, or in the chirping of the birds, as we walk, yes even the snapping of crickets. There’s all kind of beetles and bugs that crawl out from the ground and while I may squeal when I see them, I have to stop and wonder how God created something so ugly and scary and yet remember that it is God‘s creation and it must be appreciated.

So next time you’re on that walk with your dog and you’re impatient because he is stopping for one more sniff; stop yourself and sniff in the beauty of the world around you. Perhaps there’s a message God has for you in that moment of pausing. Perhaps there will he something to carry home, just for you.

Tags buddy, dog, dog walking, faith, God, leaves, nature, prayer, purpose, reflection, trees, walking

The Lighter Walk

Friendship Walk

It has taken me a long time to have a friendship with God. We were more the ‘casual acquaintance’ type for many years. Oh sure, we had our moments of closeness when I cried out in despair for help, not fully expecting to receive any help. And there were those ‘ah ha’ moments on spiritual retreats when I got all caught up in emotions of the worship and the message.

Real friendship was another thing. I still remember walking to communion one Sunday as the band played a song about Jesus being my friend and I realized that I didn’t feel that way. It broke my heart that others could know him that way but I didn’t. I mean I have been a Christian all my life so how could I not feel Jesus was my friend? Friendship implies a close relationship, a sharing of secrets, a deliberate presence in each other’s lives, and time spent together through all the good and bad times.

Wasn’t that Jesus?

Tags Bible stories, Christian, friend in Jesus, friendship, God's love, God's will, lighter walk, relationships, The Meadows, transformation, walking, walking with Jesus

The Lighter Walk

Shifting to The Lighter Walk

Post author By Maggie Marcum
Post date March 21, 2017
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Life has a way of sending us in new directions. I have walked many roads in my day, many that have not been easy. The past few years have been less complex as I continue to learn how to make my life less complicated.

And now I am ready for The Lighter Walk.

I have a deep faith in the transformative power of Jesus Christ in my life. I continue to develop a rich personal relationship with God. I have learned to let the words in the pages of my bible come to life and guide me through the Holy Spirit. When I am willing to look, I see God in the world around me. I have come to appreciate the connection between those wonderful words, nature, and the way in which my heart and mind are more open in those spaces.

I am ready for life to be less complicated. I don’t need to walk a thousand miles to find myself or to find God. I don’t need to embark on a foreign adventure to find what is already inside my heart and soul. I do; however, need to open my bible, open my eyes, open my ears, and become willing to receive the love God has surrounded me with here where I live and any where my feet carry me.

I need to let the light into the darker places from journey’s past and walk in a lighter direction.

What does that mean for this blog? It means I will slowly begin to turn this over to The Lighter Walk. It means that I am going to start walking in nature here, and near, where I live. It will start with a simple walk in the parks, the fields, the mountains, and the beaches around me in Virginia.

The Lighter Walk is a journey I hope you will join me on. I hope that as I step out you might want to walk with me and share what God is doing in your life. I hope that we will discover that if we keep it simple, we will simply hear and be with God

More to come, but for today I am letting go of other people’s expectation about how a walk with the Lord should look. I am letting go of the notion that we need some complex deep theological angle to meet with God. I am letting go of all that has held me back and starting a simple lighter walk with God.

Tags eat, finding God, God, God in nature, hiking, love, meditation, nature, Pacific Crest Trail, pray, walking, Wild