I’ll do it, What Happened?

Have you ever asked yourself this question or responded to help from someone else by saying you’ll do it yourself? My guess is you answered yes to both.

These thoughts kept repeating themselves over and over on my ride(s), and they often do at other times as well. This is my 2 and a half year old granddaughter’s favorite question. I remember my boys asking, “What’s that?” and “Why?” but I don’t recall them repeatedly asking what happened. She wants to know details and I love it. She also wants to do things herself quite often, and if you ask if you can help she’s quick to point out she wants to do it herself, even if it’s frustrating her. She wants to learn and experience things herself.

I set off to ride like any other day but wanted to try some new roads. As usual I had no real plan but did soon find myself in unfamiliar territory. It amazes me that I’ve lived here for 30 years and there are still roads I’ve yet to travel. One such road had some totally unexpected scenery. I’ve seen a few small areas with solar panels on it before, but nothing like this! There were acres upon acres of solar panels. It was interesting yet a little freaky to see. It reminded me of something out of a movie or story where the government does weird experiments or something. I guess maybe part of it was just the magnitude of it, and part of it was the offical signs out front naming each area.

I considered pulling over to look at my phone and get an idea of where to go next but decided to just see where the road went and do it myself, no aids from electronics. I had decided earlier that I was going to do something I rarely do and have a “me” day. If I checked location on my phone, there was always the possibility I might have a message requiring a response and I didn’t want to chance it, as selfish as that may sound. I just wanted uninterrupted alone time with God and my bike in the beautiful countryside He created. Checking also meant I might choose a different route and might miss something I’d see by just doing it myself as I felt lead. I knew anything that might come up could either wait or be handled by someone else. I had a sense of peace about that I don’t always have.

John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

A short time after going through the solar panel fields , I was again on another unfamiliar road. This time a large truck that was raised up high on big wheels was behind me. I’ll admit it gave me an uneasy feeling. I purposely slowed to just a little under the speed limit a couple of times as passing zones approached in hopes they would go by me. For what seemed like an eternity they didn’t, but lo and behold finally they did. I’m sure my imagination was just in overdrive after the solar fields, but it was a little spooky. I think I’ve seen too many bits and pieces of movies/videos with hubby that I need to avoid in the future. 🙄

As I continued on, I fortunately have a pretty good sense of direction. I knew the general area I was in and knew I needed a left hand turn to head the direction I wanted to go. After seeing 3 such turns and noticing all had big orange “loose gravel ahead ” signs posted, I finally came to an intersection that provided the change in direction I wanted and no signs of construction. This was a 2 lane state highway, but again was still not a section I recall ever being on. After several miles I saw another big orange sign ahead. This time it said, “Detour, road closed ahead.” So again I changed my route.

Along the ride (s), as I mentioned earlier, I kept thinking about my granddaughters favorite question in regards to a lot of things. What happened-

What happened to a very odd but large house I’ve watched being built over the years? I’ve passed it many times and always thought they were possibly building sections at a time as they could afford it. Now it’s for sale and the grass and weeds seem to have taken over. It’s always reminded me of a house like you’d see in a commune or where maybe several generations of a family would live, or maybe just one family with 8 or 9 kids. So what happened to whoever was building it and why does it appear abandoned? Was it because they wanted to do it themselves but no longer could or something else? It’s a mystery to me and I don’t know what happened.

I thought about the state our country is in with all of the constant negativity and crazy ideologies out there now. This is not the same country I grew up in or even my boys grew up in. What happened? How did we get to this point? It makes me stop and think not only what happened already, but what will happen next.

The more time I spend riding, the more I want to ride. It’s a time of reflection and reminiscing about the past, soul searching and pondering the future, but mostly enjoying the present.

It’s about feeling the cooler air flowing across my face and arms as Fall approaches, experiencing the earlier sunsets; which I don’t particularly care for as it limits riding time more, and enjoying the leaf colors that are just now starting to change. It’s the yellow daisies along the roadside, the yellowing of the soybean leaves as they get closer to harvest time, and the fields left with short stalks where the corn has already been gathered and processed. It’s seeing a flock of turkeys enjoying the bits of corn left behind during that process. It’s also seeing the Fall/Winter flowers being planted in gardens and flower pots to decorate homes and yards. It’s a time to be able to completely enjoy all of these things without worldly distractions of a phone or TV.

In between rides also lead to an “I’ll do it” moment with my bike. My saddle bags are not hard sided and I’ve noticed some cracks forming around the bolts that hold them on in a few places. Hubby did a great job installing them for me a couple years ago but I decided I wanted to do the repair work myself. I’d picked up a few things earlier in the week that I thought would work and decided to give it a shot once the bike was cooled down. Long story short, with my sweet German Shepherd laying at my feet, my daddy’s tools, and determination like my granddaughter, I got it done! Of course I had to go for 1 more ride to make sure it held, which it did.

I know I’ll continue to wonder and question often about what happened or will happen and I’ll continue to have moments where I just want to do things myself. I’ll continue to ride and try to figure it all out, but mostly I’ll continue to ride to feel alive and to enjoy the sense of peace and healing it brings! There’s beauty all around just waiting to be experienced and appreciated.

Job 12:7-10