2015 was a year of
awesomeness for me! I rode my bicycle from San Francisco, CA to Portsmouth, NH.
Amazing. Not easy! But amazing in so many ways. The first five months of the
year were spent preparing - mainly riding my bicycle a lot in all kinds of weather.
The next two months were spent pedaling and fueling. Fueling is like eating but
athletes call it fueling just because it sounds better. The last five months
have been much less scripted, just kind of doing what sounds fun and feels
good. With the exception of work. As you might imagine, taking two months off
to ride my bike means I haven't had many days off since returning. But I do
have one of the coolest bosses around to let me have the time off work for that
trip.
The fourth day of the ride, we pedaled from Auburn to Truckee. Our route followed I-80. Sometimes we were on the freeway, sometimes on a side road. It was a challenging day with a lot of climbing. I tried to look around and enjoy the scenery and soak in the whole experience. At one point, as I looked at the mountains surrounding me, I had a brief glimpse of what a tiny speck on the North American continent I was. And I was riding my bike all the way across. And that was exactly why I wanted to do it on a bike! It did make me feel rather small and insignificant but at the same time, seeing my smallness in contrast to all that surrounded me, it made me intensely grateful that the God who created all this also created me, loved me, and knew where I was and what I was doing.
Fast forward a few days
to the beauties of Nevada. A day came that I had expected; a day when the
enormity of the task before me really sank in. I knew excitement and adrenaline
would carry me through the start of the journey but I also knew that would wear
off. It did. I looked at the map that day and how far we'd come - a long ways!
- but we had soooo far left to go! There was no doubt in my mind that I could
do it, that I would finish the journey. I had committed myself to the task but
it did seem pretty overwhelming. I worked on enjoying the moment, finding
pleasure in my surroundings and companions, and just kept pedaling. I kept the
big goal in mind but tried not to let it loom too large. There were definitely
challenging days but overall, it was just a blast. And if you consistently do
small things well, they add up to big things like wheeling your bike down to
dip the front tire in the Atlantic Ocean!
I can draw a lot of
parallels to this experience but one stands out right now for me, especially at
this season of the year. John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life. God's Son, Jesus Christ, came to this world to save us.
The scriptures say he received not of the fullness at first but received grace
for grace. I think maybe he didn't realize the enormity of the task all at
once. Maybe, like me, he had an understanding of the task at hand but when he
was in the midst of it, he suddenly realized how difficult it was going to be.
Mark 14:33 says when he was in Gethsemane he began to be sore amazed. He even
asked if there was an alternate plan. However he'd committed himself to the
task and he would complete it. How grateful I am to the "author and
finisher of our faith"! And how grateful I am to his Father, my Heavenly
Father, for being a finisher as well. The world may be in chaos, our lives may
be in chaos, but there is a God and he does have a plan and it is a 100% plan.
He didn't get 95% done and call it good enough. It's a plan that covers
everyone and He will finish it. It is my faith in his plan that enables me to
move forward and find joy in life and have hope for the future.
I am so grateful for my
wonderful family and the many amazing friends I have in my life. Thank you to
each of you for your goodness and the love and joy you have shared with me. A
special thanks to so many who shared my journey this summer. Whether you were
there in person or in spirit, you made the trip so much sweeter and more meaningful
than it would have otherwise been. May you have a very Merry Christmas and may
the coming year be a joyous one for you and yours.
