On Balance and Pedaling
A few weeks ago, our daughter-in-law sent us a video of our youngest grandchild riding her little balance bike for the first time. She carefully alternated lifting her tiny three-year-old feet with putting them down on the ground, skidding along, and then lifting again as she carefully balanced herself, feeling her way to the success of not using her feet at all! “Look at me!” she shyly/proudly spoke into the camera.
Because our son and family live in Costa Rica, we couldn’t be there to cheer her on but we enjoyed being able to watch her! It is such a big deal to finally ride a bicycle.
I remember way back when I first learned to ride my bicycle. I had a few mishaps. I’ll share one.
For my birthday, my mom had let me invite some friends over for a little party after school. I invited my closest girlfriends and was proud of myself for inviting two boys also! As we walked up the lane and near to the house, I glanced up to see, through the window, that mom had bought me a new bicycle! Oh my goodness what an extravagant gift! I was thrilled. But, I had guests to attend to, so at first, mom wasn’t sure I was very excited about my present. But she was wrong. As soon as my friends left, I ran outside yelling, “Mom, come and help me! I want to learn how to ride! Come!”
Of course, the bike was adult-sized. We didn’t have money to keep adding bigger bicycles as we grew older. So we rode what we had. Being the youngest child, a new bike felt like a really big deal! I was thrilled!
Heading outside to the farmyard, my mom helped me learn to keep my balance. You can imagine how she held the right handlebar with her right hand and with her left hand on the seat behind me, she ran with me, offering all kinds of encouragement as we went. Trotting beside me for a few steps, she would let go when she sensed that I was getting the feel of it. I don’t know how many times I fell down but I was determined to get this task accomplished!
Finally, she thought that I was ready to try on my own.
We lived on a farm where the long lane sloped slightly as it entered the barnyard. The lane had gouged out the right side of the slope so it was a perfect place for me to start my first solo ride! There I could sit on the seat of the bicycle while my right foot, on the higher ground, kept me upright. My left foot sat perched on the left pedal, turned to just the right position so I could get a good strong push off. My older brothers were in the barnyard doing other stuff probably but, at the same time, keeping an eye on their youngest sister’s attempts at riding her new bicycle. I can imagine how humorous the scene was to them!
Feeling confident after just hosting a birthday party with boys at it, I grasped those shiny chrome handlebars, positioned the left pedal, pushed off, and started pedaling with all my heart.
“Mom, look!” I yelled. “Look!”
Concentrating on my balance, I realized that, indeed, I was balancing and riding my bicycle for the first time. It was great to feel the thrill of pedaling and balancing. I was actually riding my new bicycle!
But my excited yells, soon became frantic screams when I looked up and found that I was pedaling with all my heart straight into the side of the barn that loomed right in front of me.
Later my brother would comment: “Who thinks about how to stop a bicycle you don’t yet know how to ride?”
Indeed. I kept pedaling strong and balancing well…until I smashed, smack-dab, into the side of the barn.
Stifling a giggle, my mom rushed to the barn to help me untangle my legs and dry my tears.
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Have you ever found yourself concentrating so much on balancing and pedaling that you forget the big (barn) picture?
Of course, you do! You and I have kids to feed and get to school. There are sermons to write and high schoolers with opinions. Job pressures weigh on our minds and health problems catch us off guard. Our adult children and grandchildren are ever near to our hearts and grief has sidelined us more times than we can count by unexpectedly showing up at the most inopportune times. Will our business continue to thrive? Will my boss appreciate my skills and keep me on? We have significant relationships to tend to and new babies to love on and perhaps even a few regrets that slow us down. Fears crouch just below the surface and waves of anger flare up, surprising us with their ferocity. Divorce, guilt, being overlooked in friendship, feeling misunderstood, financial difficulties, differences of opinion surrounding the pandemic, exhaustion…the list goes on…and now there’s even a war to grieve over.
How can we do anything besides keep our feet on the pedals, balance it all, and push forward?
*****
I do have an idea. One that helps me to not forget about the wall I might be close to hitting!
There is Someone with me.
In Psalm 139 David asks God,
“Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
As I tend to all the small and large duties of the day, I am not on my own to figure everything out. I am not alone. I am not alone. I am not alone. There is One who is as close as my breath. One who hears me when I call. One who comforts me when I grieve. The One who was with me from the beginning - who actually held my mother’s womb and smiled me into being. That One is Jesus. He creatively wove my body and my life story into being and has been with me every moment as I live out that story.
Just as my mother watched and rescued me from the crash into the barn, my God picks up the pieces of my sadness and failures and shows me a better way.
Just as the disciples could only focus on the storm buffeting their boat on the lake, so we do our best to stay afloat. But they had Jesus in the boat with them, and so do we. We are not alone. We are not on our own. We have the God of the universe with us in the midst of it all.
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What’s the thing that has your eyes focusing on the pedals and not on hope or joy or God himself?
Turn your eyes to Him in the midst of it. Praise Him for being the very person you need right that minute, even if your heart is breaking. Thank Him because He has something there for you. He has Himself. Ready. Willing. Full of gentleness and grace.
And one piece of advice: Before plunging full speed ahead, be sure you know how to stop. It will keep you from all kinds of bruises, bloody knees, and embarrassing stories told by your older brothers.