What I Saw On My Walk: Evolve

Evolve: Graffiti on a guardrail.

April 28, 2025

I take walks — lots and lots of walks. That’s not why we brought our dog (Iona) into our lives, but it’s a good outcome, from my perspective. I’m someone who has always done my clearest thinking while walking, so these past few years, as I went through what felt like a boatload of shifts in my understanding of my calling, I walked, and I walked, and I walked some more. And as I walked, I listened (to the world around me, to the Spirit within me, to books by wise thinkers and good writers) and I observed, and sometimes I saw signs. And I mean real, non-metaphorical signs.

Like this one: EVOLVE. A message from an unknown graffiti artist that captured a bit of the energy I was feeling bubbling up in my life.

Those of you who know me know that I am a committer. I don’t tend to make decisions quickly. I love deeply, and I am steadfast in that to which I am committed. When I was called to serve the wonderful church that still holds a very special place in my heart, I never would have thought I’d be there for 22 years, but it was so very good. And when I began serving as a hospice chaplain, I really wasn’t sure how long I could do work that required so much of me, emotionally speaking. But I loved that, too, and so I stayed, through 11 years and hundreds upon hundreds of deaths.

But even though I am someone who holds steady, eventually I began to feel shifts in my calling. Through conversations with wise people who know me well, through silence and listening and prayer and yes, much walking, I began to find names for the shifts going on in my spirit. And I recognized a nudge from within: EVOLVE! The amazing thing, I find, is that most of us don’t have just one calling in this world. We’re called … and then the ground shifts … and the call evolves. It’s up to us to evolve with it!

And so I start a new journey, leaning into Spirit, and waiting with patience and listening deeply. I hope you’ll come along with me!

Susie