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One of my favorite things that I get to do is ride bikes in the woods and coach our local middle and high school mountain biking club. It’s challenging, fun and gives me a chance to be outside in the beautiful world that God has created. When riding a mountain bike on a trail in the woods one will encounter all sorts of obstacles in the form of roots, rocks, gravel, mud, water…. animal droppings (!) and any other things you might imagine would be in the woods. Split second decisions about how to traverse the obstacles in your path are necessary and one of the fundamentals that we teach our student athletes is to always look ahead, not down. Looking directly at the obstacles in your way, instead of keeping your eyes on the path ahead makes a very big difference. If you look directly down at the rocks or the roots, you will ride right into them and probably stop your bike’s progress. Typically, while this stops your bike, it does not stop your own body’s momentum and often you can end up OTB – a crash that sends you “over the (handle)bars.” 

When you can focus on the trail ahead and stay on the path or a “line” through the rocks, roots, sticks, mud, stream, or whatever it is that you’re about to cross, the experience is much better. I have come to learn that I need to trust my bike, which has technology that is able to carry me over such obstacles, and my training and the skills that I have been developing. When I can relax and look ahead on the path without death-gripping my handlebars and brake levers, it is so much easier to glide over obstacles. Remembering all the things that you’re supposed to do at the same time is difficult, but the more practice I get, the easier it is to ride through what used to seem insurmountable. Often, I’m scared, but I challenge myself to try the next thing and just like the student athletes that I coach, my confidence and skill increases over time. 

So it is with the Christian life. Focusing on our problems, zeroing in on the sharp rocks of despair, obsessing on the twisted roots of sin that so easily entangles us, can really get us off track and even end up sending us OTB. Thinking too long and hard about the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that we face in our lives is a recipe for struggling to overcome them.  It is when we turn our focus to Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, that we can have the endurance to complete the race before us. Just like the time spent building skills and endurance on trails in the woods, spiritual maturity comes from time we spend in the Word and within the community of believers. The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives makes it easier to traverse the trials that we ride through in this life.  

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV

Image by Simon Feder from Pixabay

ABOUT OUR BLOGGER

Sarah Flowers lives in idyllic Chadds Ford, where she is steeped in beauty and connection to the land and its history. She loves coffee and flowers and getting to know Jesus. A lifelong learner, she seeks to follow God’s plan to bring hope to His children. Sarah is a self-declared serial optimist and melodiphile; there’s always a path to the sunny side and a soundtrack for the journey! She is a mom and wife and a grateful alumna of Northwood University. Her former iterations include automotive professional and shoe diva. Sarah is one of the co-hosts of the podcast Trustworthy and is “most likely to ride bikes in the woods!”

THANKS FOR GIVING FOOD DRIVE

Through November 30

As a church, during the month of November, we will be collecting non-perishable food items so that we can stock our local food pantries and support those in need across our communities. As we collect food items, they will be distributed into the community through KACS in Kennett and the Oxford Neighborhood Services Center in Jennersville. 

For more details and the food donation list, click here.