Putting on the Brakes

Not all of my rides end up stirring up specific memories and not all rides lead me to writing. Often when I’m riding along and thinking, if thoughts come to mind that I feel lead to write about, even once I start writing, the words that follow are often different than what I thought they would be. Other times I think I will write when I return and then I no longer felt lead to once I get home. It is obvious to me that this is totally a “God thing.” There is no way this is all coming from within me. With that said, the past couple of rides have not been memory invoking rides. They have been more of the “clear your mind” and refocus kind of rides.

Sometimes I have to just be still and listen to that still small voice. It’s in those times that I find healing taking place as well as planning or redirection. It was actually an annoying even that triggered it all this time. As I was happily cruising through town with no destination in mind it happened. (For the record I RARELY have a destination in mind when I ride, but that’s beside the point.) The car in front of me decided all of a sudden to hit the brakes. To me there was no logical reason for this. There was no debris in the road and nothing had darted out in front of them. The reason I hit the brakes was obvious, so I wouldn’t rear end them. I soon learned they were going to the convenience store/gas station to the right of the road we were on. They used no blinkers or hand signals, just brakes then they eventually turned.

As I started reflecting on that event, I realized life is the same way. We can be cruising along thinking everything is going well and then out of nowhere,  BAM. All of a sudden everything changes. It may be me that puts on the brakes, or another person. It may be a health condition, finances, or any other number of things. Now we are faced with a new set of circumstances that were unexpected. This can cause all kinds of new emotions depending on what the situation is. How you react depends on whether you have a positive or negative outlook, your past, your present, and a number of other factors. It also depends on your beliefs. I try hard to never think of a glass as half full or half empty, but as refillable. Every day we can choose to see the good or the bad in every situation. There are always people who are very upbeat and focus on only the good things, as well as those that seem to dwell on only the bad things. When you have been sick for more than a day, or dealing with a stressful situation, do you focus on how bad things have been, or on the fact that they were bad but today is better? The world we live in, especially if you listen to the media, tends to lean to all of the bad or negative. There is a local reporter that reports on the “good news.” She is truly a blessing to watch. If you want to check her out, it’s Kristen Hampton of WBTV news. She recently did a very funny story and someone commented negatively that they would “rather watch paint dry.” What was her reaction? She did a video where she painted a board and showed different clips as it dried and said there you go! We should all react so positively, rather than letting those naysayers get us down.

Life can be very challenging believe me I know. We can allow those sudden brakes ahead of us to get us down, or we can see them as things that slowed us down for a reason. Maybe if I hadn’t had to slow down for that turning car unexpectedly, something else worse was coming. We all have our own storms to weather. Personally, I cannot imagine having to weather them without my Lord and Savior to lead me through. We may not ever understand why we are going through certain things or why the outcomes are not always what we expected and prayed for. There have been may times I did not get what I prayed for and I am thankful that He knew better than to answer my prayers my way. His way always turned out better. I know there are many who believe simply in coincidences or karma or whatever. I don’t believe in those things and I put all my faith in God to get me through every day. As you know if you’ve read any of my other posts, I sometimes talk to him non-stop, like when I was riding home recently in the awful storm and when I was on the road under construction. I’m not strong enough to get through battles and storms on my own and I am very thankful for His mercy and grace to see me through.

I know brakes and road blocks and other “annoyances” and interruptions will occur. I pray I will continue to just give them all to God. I have seen in my personal life how much easier it makes it to get through every situation when I give it to Him and I leave it there. For years I would give it to Him, then take it back. Taking it back only resulted in more heart ache, negativity, and worry. Giving it to Him and leaving it with Him, leaves a feeling of peace and rest for my weary soul. I need to treat my decisions like the ones I make on my bike, there is no reverse. I can go ahead or I have to turn around. Turning around is often the same as going backwards. I will strive to only go forward, will hopefully always give it all to Him, and I will continue to give Him all of the glory.