This was my local lockdown track. I walked it so many times. I still do! It’s become a therapeutic place. As I travel the world in my role I love to walk and explore places I’ve never seen before. I love adventure and change. I enjoy new experiences! But in the world as it is today, there is something soul filling, comforting and beautiful in the familiar.

On my local Wurundjeri Walk track, I’m reminded of the importance of constancy, gratitude and perspective in a chaotic and hurting world.

As I walk on these familiar tracks and stop for a coffee with a local barista, I’m reminded of a constant, loving, compassionate God who turns up in all seasons of my life. Usually, I pause on this walk at the same spot and ponder the invitation: “be still and know that I am God”. I need stillness in the craziness of our world.

On these predictable paths I’m reminded of never taking for granted the love of family, the joy of friendship and all that I have in my world – so much compared to so many. I’m reminded that at the end of this walk there will be a safe and secure home – where I don’t fear danger or displacement.

As I finish a coffee at the end of the track, my mind ritually begins to re-enter what lays ahead. In this posture, I’m reminded that Jesus’ default was always to enter in, to serve, to come alongside. Jesus modelled both cherishing the familiar, while being ready for disruption. The familiar patterns – like my short sabbatical walk – bring refreshment and renewal. And then Jesus beckons his followers to let go of my culture’s obsession with comfort. He calls us to uncomfortable places and unpredictable settings – to life tracks where we walk with others in the messiness of life. Where we come alongside others yearning for love, acceptance, hope, comfort, justice, dignity and belonging.

What familiar things can you be thankful for today? Where are you being beckoned into messiness as a person of peace and hope?