Post #8: Kävelykepit/Walking Sticks

Today I wanted to write shortly about walking sticks.  I told you that I would tell you how much Finns love their walking sticks in a later post, and this is that later post.  Walking Sticks are everywhere in Finland.  Finns love to get out and to exercise and usually take a daily walk, when they do so it is quite common to see them with walking sticks. They are most popular among the elderly, but you will find all ages using them.  Usually when I think of walking sticks I either think of a cane or I think of a big long wooden staff that a wizard would carry.  These are not the walking sticks I am speaking of.  Finnish walking sticks otherwise known as "kävelykepit" look very much like ski poles.  Their benefits of course help you to walk and offer stability but they also force you to work out your upper body as you go for your walk.  Walking sticks are used in all seasons in all weather.  Some have little rubber boots on the bottom and others have metal spikes, this helps you for the different types of terrains or weather you may be out in.  We were often told to go get a pair because we were always outside walking from place to place.  As I was thinking about how important walking sticks are to Finns I couldn't help but parallel that to how we need to be using our spiritual walking sticks daily.  The two spiritual "walking sticks" which we should be using daily are prayer and scripture study.  Both are essential for our spiritual health and wellbeing.  It is easy to forget to use our spiritual walking sticks daily.  When we forget to use them it is as if we are going outside on a walk in negative degree weather were water from a previous rain has just frozen all over the ground.  It can also be as though we brought our walking sticks with us but we choose not to use them.  Without our spiked walking sticks the chances of us slipping, falling, and getting hurt increase drastically.  When we do not read our scriptures or pray to our Heavenly Father we increase our chances of doing the exact same thing but on a spiritual level, and sometimes the fall really hurts.  Luckily our Father in Heaven has not sent us out to walk alone.  He has sent His son Jesus Christ to be our walking buddy.  Christ is always there willing to help pick us back up.  He always has an extra pair of walking sticks which he is willing to give to us if we will just accept them.  I have a firm belief that when we use spiritual walking sticks diligently and make them an essential part of our lives we will always have a better stroll.  Have you used your walking sticks today?