He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God. - 1 Kings 19.8

No one should live more than a ten minute walk from a good walk.

This is the position of the National Recreation and Parks Association and Urban Land Institute, which has coaxed the mayors of two hundred and twenty cities across America into signing on to support their project. The idea is that urbanites should be able to reach a green space within a half-hour's trek from anywhere in their town. Experts insist that even a brief walk through nature provides wonderful health benefits. Minneapolis has long since achieved the ten-minute desideratum and, perhaps as a result, ranks as the healthiest city in the country. Of course, multiple studies add that adequate sleep and a healthy diet have similar effects. 

Consider, then, the case of Elijah.

The crusty old prophet bursts on the scene declaring famines, eating carrion, sponging off widows, raising the dead, confronting kings, calling down divine fire and, for an encore, making it rain. At the end of all this frenetic prophetic exertion, he sort of flames out. The queen threatens his life and he bolts, paving his retreat with prayers that lay the blame on God. Then an interesting thing happens: he takes a nap. When he wakes up, he eats some bread (whole-grain and organic, no doubt). and has a drink (water; not soda). Then he takes a walk - granted, he exceeds the ten-minute minimum by over five thousand percent but its still a stroll to an outdoor location.

Then he hears from God.

Many of us live ten minutes or less from our next crisis. Sometimes it seems that only nanoseconds separate us from an angry mob of demands. When our skins get thin and our prayers grow peevish, it may be time to follow the Lord's prescription: take a nap; have a snack; go for a walk. Don't wait for ideal conditions: Elijah slept in the shade of a day hot enough to bake bread on a rock! Don't insist on an extended vacation: if you don't have forty days, the scientists tell us that even forty minutes will do. 

Make your way to the mountain of God; then you can judge molehills accurately.