A WALK TO REMEMBER
- 45 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By: Jessica Breazeale
Have you ever wanted to give someone an invaluable gift—one that goes far beyond ANYTHING you could EVER wrap up? I’m talking about the kind of gift that helps you all the days of your life. Let me explain…
Have you ever given someone a priceless gift… and they didn’t want it? Yeah. That happened to me last week.
I love going for walks in the spring and fall when the weather is juuuuust right. Spring is my favorite—the smell of honeysuckle, the sound of birds chirping, that dramatic little temperature shift when you move from sunlight into shade. I love my walking paths!
But…my son is a teenager—his moods are all over the place, and he wears his heart on his sleeve. So I thought, I’m going to give him this gift. This beautiful, life-giving gift: finding peace in chaos through walking.
Walking is my happy place. My peaceful place. It’s where I find clarity. It’s where I spend time with God—my perfect Dad. It’s where I think about the world, pray about big things, try to solve world hunger, and get a little exercise in. Not that I lose any weight… because let’s be honest, I probably ate terribly all day—but still, I love it.
So one day, in the middle of one of his classic teenage fits of rage—you know, that good old teenage angst we all “love” (and yes, sarcasm—no one loves it)—I calmly said, “Come on, you’re going walking with me.”
He fought me tooth and nail. “No, I’m not going.”
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes. You. Are.”
“You don’t get a say in this—you’re walking with me. I’ve got a present for you along the way.” He’s intrigued by the mysterious gift not realizing the prize can’t be wrapped.
In my head, I knew this would work. All he needed was some time—just some grass under his feet, hearing the birds, smelling the honeysuckle. I thought he’d be a changed man… or at least a changed young man.
So, how do you think the story ends?
Yeah. Not like that.
He complained the entire time. Didn’t enjoy a second. And honestly, he made my walk miserable too. It wasn’t peaceful; it was just more chaos. And I found myself wishing I hadn’t invited him into my happy place.
Lesson learned. Check. ☑️
But here’s the funny part—while I thought I was teaching him something, he was actually taught ME.
I thought I was showing him how to find peace, the way I find it. But what he taught me was this:
1. You can’t make people find peace if they don’t want to.
2. You can’t expect everyone else’s place of peace to be your place of peace.
3. No matter how much you want peace for someone else. They have to want it.
Let’s be honest, your peaceful place might just not be their thing…or their place.
His happy place? Probably a baseball field. Or fishing. Or riding a four-wheeler. For some, it’s reading a good book. For others, it’s gardening—planting flowers, growing vegetables.
Whatever it is, your happy place—your peace—is yours. It’s unique to you.
So, the teacher became the student.
And I’m okay with that… because I want to be a lifelong learner. I never want to be the person who thinks they know it all. There’s always something to learn—even from my teenager, who I love more than sliced bread with Mississippi State apple butter on it.
What’s the Bigger Picture Here?
#1 - Sometimes the teacher will be the student.
#2 – Don’t force peace. Can’t be done. Just introduce it.
#3 - Keep calm and carry on.
Downloadable version:
Comments