Bikes and Perspective

Today has been a good day. We were initially awakened by Einstein (our cat) tapping our closed bedroom door with his paws, like he does whenever we sleep in past 6am. We don't know where he learned that, but it always makes us laugh. That is a pretty good way to start the day. But, I was motivated to actually get out of bed when the phone rang. It was a close friend, inviting me to go to the Hot Springs with her today. Unfortunately I'm not able to go since my doctor said "no soaking for two more weeks." But, I appreciated her thoughtfulness.

The best part of the day, though, was hopping on our bikes and riding to the cemetery together. It has been a while since I've been on a bike... there will be soreness tomorrow morning for sure. But, it was refreshing to ride through the quiet streets this morning, with a cool breeze in the air, knowing I was doing something healthy for my body, my mind, and my spirit. I know in a few days (or maybe weeks) the sore muscles won't be so sore, and being on a bike won't feel so foreign.

So, we visited the gravesite of our girls. We decided the other day that it was something we wanted to do, while we're feeling this draw to visit there. I'm guessing we won't always feel drawn there, but for now it is a place that we want to be. It is a place of peace and inspiration for us. It always seems to put things back into perspective... and it brings us closer together.

I've found that when my perspective of this life is put in its proper place in the span of eternity, I feel lighter. The burden of doubt and fear become non-existant. I think that's been the hardest part of this experience - fighting the doubts and fears of how we'll get through today, what tomorrow will bring, and if we'll survive whatever experience is lurking around the next corner. Not exactly the recommended way to go through life.  

Fortunately past experience has taught Marc and me that Christ will strengthen us to bear our burdens with ease, and in Him we will find rest. As long as our foundation is built on Christ, whatever storms of life come, we will overcome. Whatever the future holds, we will make it with His help.

So, the challenge then is to keep our perspective in focus. I came across this quote today by an American philospoher, Will Durant:  

We want to seize the value and perspective of passing things and so to pull ourselves up out of the maelstrom of daily circumstance. We want to know that the little things are little, and the big things big, before it is too late. We want to see things now as they will seem forever -- "in the light of eternity." We want to learn to laugh in the face of the inevitable, to smile even at the looming of death.

The trick, now, is to find some way to remember that, especially as we go through the valleys along this journey. Maybe it's just a matter of mental discipline, to practice thinking about everything in life in terms of eternity... identifying the small things and the big things and giving them their proper place of priority. Yeah, I know that isn't easy... but maybe it gets easier with practice, just like anything else in life... like riding a bike.

Let the rain come down

Today is Monday. M O N D A Y. What more is there to say? I thought about posting a music video of Manic Monday, but didn't find one that I liked. Instead, I figured it would be a good day to promote one of my favorite songs, Into the Ocean, by Blue October. It is October, after all, so it works. Not that I wouldn't be able to post a song by Blue October in May if I wanted to... but, I was really stretching to think of something to post for today and since "Monday" didn't result in finding anything good, I went with the next thing that came to mind - October.



So, I really love this song. I love its catchy music... but, I really love the lyrics. I might be interpreting the song wrong, but the message that jumps out at me is "bring it on!" (Of course, until the end of the song, when it starts to sound like the poor guy has given up. Oh well, don't listen to the end if you don't want to.)

Let the waves up take me down
Let the hurricane set in motion... yeah
Let the rain of what I feel right now...come down
Let the rain come down
Let the rain come down

I remember getting stuck in the rain on my bike once while I was on my mission. It was at the end of a really awful day. So many bad things had happened that we stopped counting. Then, we came out of our last appointment at about 9:00pm. It was dark, cold, and when we stepped outside it literally felt like buckets of water were being dumped on our heads. And, we were about a 20 minute bike ride from our apartment. What can you do? Really? So, we hopped on our bikes and started riding home... and the entire time I was thinking, "bring it on!" The worst had already happened... this was nothing after all we'd been through.

The photo isn't too flattering, but what do you expect after a 20 minute bike ride in the rain? Oh, and, don't you just love my bike?! It had a bell on the right side of the handle bars, it had saddle bags hanging over the back tire, and it had a light on the front of the bike that was powered by the movement of the front tire. So, when I would go "lightning" fast, the light would practically blind everyone in my way. ;)

So, anyway, if any of you out there are feeling like your Monday was rotten and the world around you is falling apart, look into the eye of the storm and with determination in your eye, say, "bring it on." (And, hopefully, that'll be enough to scare the storm away... but if not, then at least you'll be facing things head on instead of letting the storm get the best of you.)