Lessons learned

Vacation is nearing an end, which means back to work tomorrow and less time to ride. This is the first time I have felt like I would love another week of vacation before going back to work. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do, I’ve just never felt so relaxed on a vacation as I have this time. I know riding has played a major role in that. I have had a lot of alone with God time riding this week which was just what the Dr. ordered-better than any medicine known to man in my opinion. For the first time I can remember, I have not even checked my work email once!

That being said I have had experienced a lot of other “firsts” this week as well that were challenging. Having succeeded in all of them was a very good feeling though, definitely one of accomplishment. As you know if you’ve read my other blogs, I had to ride in rain and wind which was not fun. I also rode through the shopping mall area of town with all the traffic lights and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I didn’t stop to shop, I hate shopping actually, just was one of those things I made myself do for the experience. When my hubby and I were on our way back from the ride we both got caught in the rain on, he came through the center of town. This town is actually on a hill so to speak. That meant having to stop and start at stop lights, on an incline. I made it through those as well without rolling backwards, or stalling the engine. I was pretty proud of myself. Today was another first and honestly if I never have to repeat that experience, I will be a happy camper. I happened upon a road under construction and there was no way once I got to it to avoid it. Had there been signs ahead of time warning of it, I could have taken another road. There were no signs unfortunately. The road is in the process of being repaved. What that means is, the lane I was in had been stripped down and had all of those lovely grooves in the road, the ones that look like someone took a huge fork and ran it down the whole road, you get the idea. The middle turning lane had been repaved with several layers, so it was about 2-3″ higher than the lane I was in. That meant no left turning was going to happen for me. The lane going the other way had been repaved, but not as high as the center. This road currently has 3 levels, insane if you are on a motorcycle.

Have  you ever seen a video of an intoxicated person trying to walk a straight line? I imagine that’s about what the motorcycle and I looked like trying to navigate this torn up lane of highway. I was never so happy to get on smooth pavement in my life. I would take rain, wind and gravel over that experience again. The grooves were killers, thankfully the road was dry. I don’t even want to think about how much worse it would be wet.

Other than that stretch of road, riding the past couple of days has been awesome. I saw streams and rivers that reminded me of when my brother and I would go fishing and canoeing together. I saw a log cabin along the way , which reminded me of my childhood home. I grew up in a log cabin my daddy built. I saw plenty of cornfields and could smell the corn. That brings back memories of hunting with my daddy. We would go coon hunting at night in the corn fields. We also went deer and bear hunting, but the coon hunting was different. It of course was dark and so I had to stay close to him. I remember the carbide light he wore on his head to light the way so as to leave his hands free for shooting and leading the coon dogs. I can remember the smell of that light when it was burning, it had a very distinct odor.

Once I started thinking about hunting, it brought back memories of what that meant for my mom. I remember one time when my dad found some baby raccoons that apparently were all alone. He put the babies in a hat and took them home. Mom was then elected to feed these babies. That meant using an eye dropper until they were big enough to drink from a small nipple on a baby bottle.  She was also expected to feed all these crazy hunters each time upon our return. She never knew how many to prepare for ahead of time, yet she always had plenty. I know there was one man that sometimes hunted with us who could easily eat 5 or 6 sandwiches himself. It’s amazing to me the memories I recall when riding, seeing what sights and smells trigger things in my mind.

As my mom was expected to feed all of us crazy hunters, Jesus was expected to feed the multitudes as well. My mom never had anyone complain about what she provided, but that was not the case for Jesus. There always seemed to be a doubter or a whiner around who had something negative to say to or about Jesus. He not only fed their bodies, but He also fed their minds. Most of us know about the 5 loaves and 2 fish that fed 5000. Stop and think about that. If God could provide for 5000, then why do we sometimes think he can’t provide for each of us? He knows our needs before we even ask. He knows what will happen today, tomorrow, and for the rest of our lives. He knows what decisions we will make before we even make them. He knew today the road I would decide to take before I did. He knew there was construction on it. He could have told me to go another way. He allowed me to make my own choices though, and instead He was there to guide me through. Sometimes we need to experience tough choices in order to learn. We need to hunger and thirst for Him. I personally am thankful for a God who allows me to make choices, even though I have made some bad ones. I know that even in those instances, He is with me and ready to forgive me when I ask for it, and help me along the way. He will not force himself on anyone, but He is always ready with open arms to accept us where we are, if only we honestly seek Him and humble ourselves before Him.

” If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14