One morning awhile back I had a nice, long bike ride. It was sunny, around 60 degrees and virtually no wind. A cyclist’s dream. For the record I’m not a fan of the word ‘cyclist’. It sounds so……bourgeois. But biker implies I may be on a motorcycle, which I’m not cause I’m not that cool.
Anyway, when I ride I typically turn on some worship music and jump on a trail near my house that takes me through some beautiful wooded areas where I may catch a glimpse of some deer, rabbits, other cyclists bikers and walkers, and some animal poop. Probably a great place to hide out if you’re a murderer too, I suppose.
And during these rides I often think about things going on in my life and the lives of those around me and even find myself in random prayers for others. Today was no different, though I also started thinking about how biking is quite a metaphor for life.
If you weren’t already aware we’re in the midst (hopefully tail-end!) of a pandemic. I KNOW! And as I found myself riding up a hill that morning it occurred to me that for a lot of us we’re pedaling uphill. We’re working hard, we’re using lots of energy, and we’re tired. And we don’t feel like we’re getting anywhere. But if we switch gears it can make that uphill ride a bit easier.
But that’s where the growth happens, isn’t it? I think as humans though (no offense if you’re a dog and you’re reading this) we hate to admit that. Why? Cause it sucks. Who wants to go uphill? That’s not fun. Coasting downhill when you don’t have to pedal is fun, right?
But when things are hard we have to make adjustments. We have to find a way. We have to switch gears.
As I switched gears on my ride it made it easier to get up that hill. And If I’m being honest, for me switching gears in life means reading my Bible more, doing more goal setting, and being intentional about spending time (in a safe, socially distant way, of course!) with others in my life. Making those adjustments have given me renewed hope and a sense of joy that COVID seemed to take away for a bit.
Change can be doing something you’re not doing, doing more of something you’re currently doing, or even stopping something that’s not working for you. What’s maybe one thing you need to change during your uphill ride? Just one. I’d love to hear how you’re changing gears.
One more thing. You have gears for a reason. They have a purpose. Isn’t about time we use them?