For years I’ve watched a man struggle taking a walk through town most days. He doesn’t look to be old. I’ve watched him for a good 20 years so maybe he is old now. But who determines what age old starts? He must have had an accident or a stoke because he shuffles one foot in front of the other barely moving along. I might pass him on my way to run errands in town and pass him again as I leave downtown. Recently he started using a walker, but he still continues his daily trek.

I feel like I know him because I have watched him for so many years. I’m sure he has no idea, but he inspires me even though I don’t know his name. Whatever happened to slow him down years ago could have totally stopped him if he would have let it, but obviously he made a choice to keep moving.

Everything is so speedy and digital now. We get frustrated when the computer doesn’t move fast enough and when we have to wait an extra two minutes in the McDonald’s drive through. I know I’ve pulled out of line more than once before even making it to the talking box. We’re short on patience and give up easily.

Perseverance to hang on and push through things is tough and sometimes takes sheer grit and determination. Today, I’m tired. Slaying the dragons and rescuing the world has about worn me out. I would like nothing more than to just sit down. But every time my feelings drift that way, I think of my friend without a name who more than likely would like to sit down too, but he pushes on. I figure if he doesn’t give up, neither will I.

The motto of the French Foreign Legion is a good reminder to keep moving forward, even when you want to give up and sit down. “If I falter, push me on. If I stumble, pick me up. If I retreat, shoot me.”

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the face, I have kept the faith.”
- 2 Timothy 4:7