Small Steps for Big Dreams
I may be a little fixated on shoes, but this past week I realized that while it’s important to watch how we walk, it is also extremely essential that we pay attention to where we walk. Since each step takes us forward, my question is: Where are my steps taking me?
One step is approximately two and a half feet long. It doesn’t take me very far, but little things add up over time. I knew someone who threw away pennies because she said they weren’t worth anything. I rescued each one from the garbage until I had enough to buy a soda. One penny doesn’t do us much good anymore, but a hundred of them might get you something. When you need to lose twenty pounds, one pound isn’t all that exciting. If you’re ten points from winning your game, one more point doesn’t help too much. Need to go five thousand miles? One step doesn’t help much. Selling one book doesn’t bring home the big bucks.
But small things add up.
One step. Two and a half feet of progress. I’m sure Dave Kunst was very aware of his steps when he decided to walk around the world in 1970. I wonder if he knew that it would take about twenty million steps to complete his dream. Whether he did or not, he set out from Minnesota in pursuit of his dream. He completed his goal in 1974. He achieved his big dream one small step at a time.
Could you walk around the world? I don’t think I have what it takes. However, the average person takes about 10,000 steps a day. Translated into miles, that’s about five miles. I bet you never thought all those trips up and down the stairs added into miles! In fact, in a lifetime, an average person walks about 115,000 miles which is more than four times the circumference of the globe.
You will walk enough to go around the world four times! What are you doing with those steps? Where are you going?
I personally believe that God has given each and every one of us a big dream. Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Perhaps you haven’t found yours yet, or maybe you forgot it in the shuffle of life. Some people just give up – discouraged and overwhelmed. It’s easy to look at that great big dream inside of you and think that you’ll never obtain it. It’s too big. Too hard. But if you watch where you are going and take small steps towards your goal, you might surprise yourself.
Dave Kunst, the globewalker, started his journey with his brother John. In Afghanistan, some bandits shot Dave in the chest and killed his brother. But he didn’t let that stop him. He healed and continued on pursuing his dream. One step at a time.
We know that, despite the pain and hardship, God is with us. Joshua 1:9 says “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
It may be difficult, and there may be pain on the journey, but God is faithful, and He will be with you every small step of the way.
Where are you going? Are you wasting your steps by walking aimlessly? Or are you using them to obtain your dreams? What is one small step you can take today toward your dreams?
