I never knew that I could get so excited about slush. But one morning several weeks ago I found myself doing just that.

A wet snow had fallen overnight, softening the thick sheet of ice that had been covering many of the roads, sidewalks, and parking lots here in western Wisconsin for the previous month or so.

While the resulting slush was a bit sloppy, it also was a welcome relief to those of us who like to run and walk outdoors during the winter. Slush is sloppy but it offers much better traction than ice.

I’m used to running on icy patches. I’ve been doing it for more than three decades now.

But the slipperiness of the roads and sidewalks for a two- or three-week period earlier this winter was about as bad as I’ve ever seen it.

It was bad enough that my morning and evening dog walks had to be reduced to a shuffle and my morning runs had to be replaced by riding a spin bike indoors.

While there are a number of things that I enjoy about spinning—mainly that I can read or watch TV while doing so—I prefer getting my aerobic exercise outdoors. I enjoy the fresh air and the sights and sounds of nature that exercising outdoors provides.

One thing I don’t enjoy, however, is slipping and falling on my butt. Especially not at my age when one can easily break a hip.

All of which is why I was happy to see the roads and sidewalks in my neck of the woods turn to slush several weeks ago.

It was a little sloppy, to be sure, but it made for much better footing than a sheet of ice.

Just as I’ve found that slush makes for better traction than ice in my running and walking, so too have I found that following God’s will rather than my will makes for better traction in my life.

As it says in Psalm 40:2 and Psalm 119:105, I have found that the Lord “sets my feet on a rock and gives me a firm place to stand” and that God’s word is a “lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Just like slush, life can get messy. But running and walking on slush sure beats running and walking on ice, just as running and walking with God sure beats running  and walking without him.