My worst fear in life is that I'm going to become one of those crazy story-telling grandparents. You know, the ones who spout off lengthy parables to their grandchildren when all little Joey really wanted to know was whether or not he could have one of grandma's cookies! And it just so happens that these story-telling genes are ever present in my family bloodline. I tell you this as a disclaimer before I share my experience. At the risk of unleashing my parable-esque story telling skills, I share with you, "The Bike Ride."
There was a time in my life ( 2 1/2 years ago, to be exact) when I was feeling rather ambitious. I was a 1st year teacher and needed an active hobby to help me manage the stresses of my job. I decided on cycling since that's what many of my close friends did and had been trying to get me into for years. I bought a bike; a fairly nice road bike. Ignorance was bliss in this hobby because I just jumped on the bike one day after school and went... without thinking about whether or not I was ready or in shape to go the distances that I intended to go. And then I went again. And again. And I kept going when I had the chance to go. I never reached any level of experience past the intermediate-novice level in cycling, but I got to the point where I could go good lengths without much effort. I really enjoyed my bike. And my bike enjoyed me. We had a good run there for a while and my choice of hobby had turned out to be everything I'd hoped it would be.... and sometimes more!
Then life happened: I got super busy, a brain-less boy broke my heart, and I somehow managed to be the youngest person on record to have a protruding disk in their lumbar spine. I wasn't able to ride because of my back and I didn't seem to have the time to go even if I had been well. Months went by, that crazy protruding disk finally ruptured, months of physical therapy filled my afternoons, and my poor bike became a permanent fixture in my garage.
Fast forward to today. My back is great (Not really, but don't tell my mom. She'll just worry), My new job frees up more of my time, and that crazy ambitious streak has come back. I got my bike all tuned up, slapped that sexy spandex on, and set off to conquer the world on two wheels. I still loved my bike. And my bike seemed to love me. I couldn't believe how much I was enjoying my ride. I pedaled with ease and took in the scenery.... until mile 6. I soon became pain-stakingly aware of just how out of shape I'd become. The temperature of 95 degrees didn't seem to help much either. I pulled over for a drink but the still air made me feel worse. I reached for my phone and wondered who I could call to pick me up that wouldn't tease me. After considering every single person in my family and realizing that "Tease Always" is our family creed, I chose to tough it out! "Go me!" I just kept telling myself between each street sign I stopped at for the next mile. Finally I made a decision: I was going to get on my bike and pedal. I was going to keep pedaling until my bike was in the safety of my driveway. I got on and began to pedal. About a mile later I found myself coasting for an unnecessarily long period of time. As I began to pedal again I noticed that I had lost my momentum and it was even harder to start pedaling than it was the time before. This happened once more and that was enough for me to realize that I JUST COULDN'T STOP PEDALING because it was worse to try to start up again than to just keep pushing my tired legs. It was at this moment that I made a profound gospel connection, profound for me anyhow. This is just what it's like being a pro-active member of the church. It's so much easier to just keep doing all the good things we're supposed to be doing. If we get lazy, tired, distracted, and stop.... it's MUCH harder to start up again. But we don't realize this until we get lazy, tired, distracted... which we've all experienced at varying levels, I'm sure. Anyhow, this is what's been on my mind all day and I wanted to get it out of my head so I could start worrying about really important things like what to wear tomorrow. Thank heavens I knew where my end goal was and what great relief it would provide me so I'd have the motivation to make it home... which I did. And I plan to again.
4 comments:
Oh meggy I almost peeded my pants reading the first half of this post. I think because it reminded me of my first time out with the jogging stroller, and yes I did call sean to come get me but of coarse he did'nt answer his cell. Then I read the second half and thought it was funny because we made the same connection to the gospel and running today in Gospel Doctrine. It is very true and i've experienced it in my own life. You are always such a good example to me, to "just keep pedaling" and i'm so glad to have you as a sister!
What a gal...What a gal! Only you could turn such a miserable experience into a profound connection to the gospel! I can't wait to see you on the 5th! Did you get my email?
Megan, you're awesome!
Megan! Let's go riding together (in 6 weeks when I get my cast off) I miss you!
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