Speed Walkin'

I am a slow walker. Really, I am a saunter-er. My philosophy on walking is the same as my philosophy on showering.... "Dude, where's the fire?" Certainly I am able to walk or shower fast if the situation requires, but left to my own devices, the pace is quite snail-ish. Sometimes I wonder why I am snailish in this area given my pace to life is quite hectic... I mean, I take on a lot of responsibility and get a lot accomplished - you would think my Type A-ness would include how I walk.

I do know several drivers, but there is only one other person I know really well that has the same Type A-ness in life as myself. This is my pastor/boss, Bill. His desire to see lives changed and communities transformed absolutely drives him and he takes on a lot of responsibility.

But here's the sticky wicket. Bill is the opposite of a saunter-er (if you know Bill, you are now smiling). He does nothing slow. I bet he walks around his house in his jammies as if he is an Olympic speed walker. I've walked with him several times, including walking from the church office to go to lunch or other functions. He takes off out of the shoot like he's at the Kentucky Derby and he is just gone... after 10 seconds, if he is still in shouting distance, I yell "Dude, where's the fire?" One time last summer we were walking to a function and I was trying to keep up, but I was getting winded, my knees started cracking, and I start to get a good sweat bead on. Even so, he was about 3-4 strides ahead of me and I just told him, "Bill, this is as fast as I'm walking... you can go on ahead and I'll meet you there." True story. He slowed down marginally - compromise I guess.

Now, granted, he is in shape and I'm not. There is a reason he is running a marathon next week and I'm staying back to preach. However, even in those days when I was in shape, I was still a saunter-er. I am still amazed at how diverse of a people we are.

So, here's the takeaway (boy this is a stretch): When you come across people walking slow on the sidewalks of Cambridge or in the skyways of Minneapolis or wherever you are, don't jump to the conclusion that they are lazy. Perhaps they just suffer from a previously unidentified disease known as saunteritis.