After an eventful day I pulled my bike out of the garage to put in a few miles before the start of the Paradise varsity football game this past Friday night. My plans were simple. I had under two hours to get in an eighteen mile ride, shower, and to be at the concession stand at the football stadium to work the first half of the game.
I have seldom felt any better as I began my ride. Hills seemed easier than they had ever been in the past. There is a certain point on the course that I have always made it to in around thirty minutes. I pedaled faster and faster and powered up hills all the while eyeballing the time. As I neared the thirty minute point of the ride I knew I had the chance to break my previous personal best time. In order to make it I had two hills, one a long slow ascent and the other a shorter and more aggressive climb to get over before reaching the end of that stage of the ride.
As I pedaled I mentally kept talking myself through the burning in my thighs and the burning in my lungs crying out for more air. I beat my thirty minute time by four minutes and was even more elated as entered the most difficult part of the ride.
Of all the routes I take I love this one the most because it has a series of challenging hills. There are total of nine steep hills from that point on the course back to my drive way. Three of the nine hills are brutal. Two of those three brutal hills are atrociously wicked. There have been times I felt a turtle could have passed me as I stood on my pedals to grind my way to the top ever so slowly. Even in my lowest gears there have been days I struggled to get to the top.
On this ride of my life, even those hills seemed little matched for the blue Cannondale road bike and the Lance Armstrong like performance I was having. Just kidding Lance. I knew I had a shot to beat my own personal record on this eighteen mile track. As I entered the final eight mile stretch on my favorite road to ride on because the surface is so smooth and all the difficult hills lie behind me, I felt super strong and super fast. Just as I rode over the crest of the second to last hill on the whole ride, I kept hearing a popping noise behind me.
I swerved my front wheel to see if there was something going on in the back wheel and knew immediately I had a flat. It was frustrating but I thought it was not that big a deal because I have all the necessary items needed to repair a flat on my bike in tool kit mounted to my seat. To make a long story shorter let’s just say I wasted my CO2 cartridges to air my flat tire I found myself stranded. What is really irritating is that my last thought as I walked out the front door was that I needed to get my cell phone and take it in case of an emergency. In my hurry to get on my way I did not get the phone and with no way to get air I was stranded on a country road.
My only choice was to start walking pushing my bike with my right hand. Nobody stopped for help. At times I tried to run because I knew I was going to be late. With each step I dug in faster knowing I was supposed to be at the football stadium by 6:30 p.m. I was several miles from home and nowhere near the house of anyone I knew. I was also embarrassed wearing those tight fitting bicycle shorts (but with the cushioned padding sown in). I was not about to walk up to the house of a complete stranger wearing those skin tight shorts. Picture shrink wrap on Shamu the whale and you get the mental picture of my dilemma.
One mile turned into a mile and a half and finally near two miles later I made it to one our member’s house sweating profusely and used his phone to get a ride home. What can be learned from this little adventure in my life?
First, I did not heed the prompting in my heart and mind to get my phone. Was that the Lord preparing me for the difficulty I was about to face on my ride? If so, I refused to listen and it cost me dearly. I know the same thing happens in all our lives over and over again. We either do not listen or we refuse to heed the warnings and counsel of the Lord. We then find ourselves stranded and wander why? We must learn to be more sensitive to the Lord’s promptings and counsel.
The lesson I really would like to leave that episode with is that God took my being stranded and orchestrated a beautiful ministry opportunity out of it. I got a ride back to my house from one of my buddies who live near the house where I called from. Our church member was more than willing to drive me home but I have not seen my buddy in awhile and his family has not been in church in a longer while and it gave me the opportunity to reconnect with him. God took a bad circumstance in my life and did something good with it. He does that often. He turns the ashes of lives into beauty. [Is 61:3]
I just returned from celebrating the dedication of a house for a lady who lost her previous home in a wild fire in the Paradise community eight months ago. Volunteers donated time, finances, and building materials through a ministry called Nehemiah’s Vision to build her a brand new house. God took the tragedy of her loss and turned it into a blessing in disguise. We may feel stranded but the truth is God is orchestrating blessings and something beautiful out of the painful and stranded times of our lives.
One other lesson I am reminded from that ride is that though I felt stranded, God never forsook me. He kept me safe from the traffic that passed me but did not stop. He gave me endurance to walk and jog to the house where I was able to use the phone. He orchestrated the chance for me to visit one of my good friends in this community. I also made it to the concession stand only ten minutes late. Though I felt stranded, in hindsight I can see He was there. That reminds me of a verse in Is 41:10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.
Some of you feel stranded in life right now. You feel alone, maybe even a little scared. Take heart. God does not leave us stranded. He is a very present help in times of trouble. [Ps 46:1] He does not abandon us when the going gets tough and we have nowhere else to turn. He not only refuses to leave us stranded, but He also helps us. He comes to our rescue and He holds us firmly in His mighty hands. Being stranded on a bicycle a few miles from home is nothing compared to what some of you are going through. Some are exhausted from the hill like trials you keep trying to climb but feel like the summit will never come. He strengthens us to keep going. He encourages us to take another step and then another until one day we look up and find we made it and He was helping us all along the way. He helps us deal with the “flats” in life that so inconvenience us.
Do not give up. May you learn from my experience that yes trials do come into all our lives but God does not leave us stranded. He does not leave us high and dry. He is a constant presence to all who call on Him for help. [Ps 50:15] So please be encouraged on your journey that no matter how difficult the night or day may seem, joy comes in the morning [Ps 30:5] for those who keep trusting and find that God does not abandon His own.
I have seldom felt any better as I began my ride. Hills seemed easier than they had ever been in the past. There is a certain point on the course that I have always made it to in around thirty minutes. I pedaled faster and faster and powered up hills all the while eyeballing the time. As I neared the thirty minute point of the ride I knew I had the chance to break my previous personal best time. In order to make it I had two hills, one a long slow ascent and the other a shorter and more aggressive climb to get over before reaching the end of that stage of the ride.
As I pedaled I mentally kept talking myself through the burning in my thighs and the burning in my lungs crying out for more air. I beat my thirty minute time by four minutes and was even more elated as entered the most difficult part of the ride.
Of all the routes I take I love this one the most because it has a series of challenging hills. There are total of nine steep hills from that point on the course back to my drive way. Three of the nine hills are brutal. Two of those three brutal hills are atrociously wicked. There have been times I felt a turtle could have passed me as I stood on my pedals to grind my way to the top ever so slowly. Even in my lowest gears there have been days I struggled to get to the top.
On this ride of my life, even those hills seemed little matched for the blue Cannondale road bike and the Lance Armstrong like performance I was having. Just kidding Lance. I knew I had a shot to beat my own personal record on this eighteen mile track. As I entered the final eight mile stretch on my favorite road to ride on because the surface is so smooth and all the difficult hills lie behind me, I felt super strong and super fast. Just as I rode over the crest of the second to last hill on the whole ride, I kept hearing a popping noise behind me.
I swerved my front wheel to see if there was something going on in the back wheel and knew immediately I had a flat. It was frustrating but I thought it was not that big a deal because I have all the necessary items needed to repair a flat on my bike in tool kit mounted to my seat. To make a long story shorter let’s just say I wasted my CO2 cartridges to air my flat tire I found myself stranded. What is really irritating is that my last thought as I walked out the front door was that I needed to get my cell phone and take it in case of an emergency. In my hurry to get on my way I did not get the phone and with no way to get air I was stranded on a country road.
My only choice was to start walking pushing my bike with my right hand. Nobody stopped for help. At times I tried to run because I knew I was going to be late. With each step I dug in faster knowing I was supposed to be at the football stadium by 6:30 p.m. I was several miles from home and nowhere near the house of anyone I knew. I was also embarrassed wearing those tight fitting bicycle shorts (but with the cushioned padding sown in). I was not about to walk up to the house of a complete stranger wearing those skin tight shorts. Picture shrink wrap on Shamu the whale and you get the mental picture of my dilemma.
One mile turned into a mile and a half and finally near two miles later I made it to one our member’s house sweating profusely and used his phone to get a ride home. What can be learned from this little adventure in my life?
First, I did not heed the prompting in my heart and mind to get my phone. Was that the Lord preparing me for the difficulty I was about to face on my ride? If so, I refused to listen and it cost me dearly. I know the same thing happens in all our lives over and over again. We either do not listen or we refuse to heed the warnings and counsel of the Lord. We then find ourselves stranded and wander why? We must learn to be more sensitive to the Lord’s promptings and counsel.
The lesson I really would like to leave that episode with is that God took my being stranded and orchestrated a beautiful ministry opportunity out of it. I got a ride back to my house from one of my buddies who live near the house where I called from. Our church member was more than willing to drive me home but I have not seen my buddy in awhile and his family has not been in church in a longer while and it gave me the opportunity to reconnect with him. God took a bad circumstance in my life and did something good with it. He does that often. He turns the ashes of lives into beauty. [Is 61:3]
I just returned from celebrating the dedication of a house for a lady who lost her previous home in a wild fire in the Paradise community eight months ago. Volunteers donated time, finances, and building materials through a ministry called Nehemiah’s Vision to build her a brand new house. God took the tragedy of her loss and turned it into a blessing in disguise. We may feel stranded but the truth is God is orchestrating blessings and something beautiful out of the painful and stranded times of our lives.
One other lesson I am reminded from that ride is that though I felt stranded, God never forsook me. He kept me safe from the traffic that passed me but did not stop. He gave me endurance to walk and jog to the house where I was able to use the phone. He orchestrated the chance for me to visit one of my good friends in this community. I also made it to the concession stand only ten minutes late. Though I felt stranded, in hindsight I can see He was there. That reminds me of a verse in Is 41:10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.
Some of you feel stranded in life right now. You feel alone, maybe even a little scared. Take heart. God does not leave us stranded. He is a very present help in times of trouble. [Ps 46:1] He does not abandon us when the going gets tough and we have nowhere else to turn. He not only refuses to leave us stranded, but He also helps us. He comes to our rescue and He holds us firmly in His mighty hands. Being stranded on a bicycle a few miles from home is nothing compared to what some of you are going through. Some are exhausted from the hill like trials you keep trying to climb but feel like the summit will never come. He strengthens us to keep going. He encourages us to take another step and then another until one day we look up and find we made it and He was helping us all along the way. He helps us deal with the “flats” in life that so inconvenience us.
Do not give up. May you learn from my experience that yes trials do come into all our lives but God does not leave us stranded. He does not leave us high and dry. He is a constant presence to all who call on Him for help. [Ps 50:15] So please be encouraged on your journey that no matter how difficult the night or day may seem, joy comes in the morning [Ps 30:5] for those who keep trusting and find that God does not abandon His own.
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