Biking

We kept the tradition going strong this week and spent a lovely afternoon at White Rock Lake. My kid’s legs have grown enough that we can finally pedal a decent distance together. We love looking at the beautiful houses, really mansions, along the way and calling out loudly MINE when we see one we want to claim. I love the absence of laundry, bills to pay, and anything that makes me feel like a grown up. Our bike rides are like an escape from reality. That is until the boys get carried away and start swerving in and out of the other bikers and runners. At that point, I suddenly enter back into reality and full blown mom mode. I sternly remind them to stay on their own side of the trail like any good driver or biker would do with a lick of sense. Our ride this week was particularly easy. The breeze was blowing and I peddled with ease. We rode for 15 minutes or so. I kicked my legs out a few times to the side just to be footloose and fancy free. I asked one of the kids to take a picture of me like that and they thought I had absolutely lost my mind. However, when we turned around by the big pier to come back, the ride was all of a sudden really different. I did not realize it, but all the way down to the pier, we had the wind working with us and helping us along. On the way back, we were fighting the wind and facing it head on. Our easy ride immediately turned into hard work. As I huffed and puffed to get back to our spot on the big hill, I thought that fighting the wind is just like fighting the Holy Spirit and going against God’s will. It is hard! The wind was my resistance on the bike; however, I create my own resistance in life when I insist on going my own way and ignoring my Father. My legs ended up exhausted. I needed a break. I needed a puff of my inhaler too. Come to think of it, we sure do get tired fast when we are doing our own thing and disregarding the promptings of the Holy Spirit. What causes me to go against God’s will might not be an issue for you at all. Maybe it is disobedience, being distracted, or just being so comfortable with ourselves in charge that we don’t even see a need for Jesus Christ at all. Real bikers, not the ones like us who bike only to wait on the ice cream man and burn a few calories we are about to consume, use “drafting” to reduce the amount of wind resistance they face. They get close together in a group. Interesting, because maybe that is how we should view our close friends and churches. It is worth it this week to take a minute and look at your life. Do you feel like you are working with the Lord, going in the right direction or are you facing a great deal of resistance? Life for a Believer will never be perfect, but seek the Lord today if you feel like life is a constant fight with no peace . The Holy Spirit will guide you. In John 14:25 Jesus says “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name.” And, just for a bonus: If you are a member of a group of any kind, are they helping you travel with the Lord in the right direction or taking you right along with them the opposite way from where Jesus wants you to go?