Pedal Pushers

"the soul of the diligent"

Proverbs 13:4

I saw an wonderful report on the news on July 4th.  Former President George W Bush went on a 100-kilometer mountain bike ride, through the Texas desert, with a group of American warriors, wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan.


It was so inspirational to see men (and maybe women; I'm not sure) who had prosthetics for arms or legs, along with the 64 year old Bush, taking on a grueling, three-day ride through the Big Bend National Park near the US/Mexico border.

It's enough to see these heroes learning how to walk or run or bike, with a prosthetic leg; or learning how to maneuver a prosthetic arm or hand.  We can only imagine, most of us, what it's like, to learn how to do simple things all over again.  The discouragement, the pain, the struggles...  That is inspiration enough.

But then to see them on this bike ride.... Man, it looked so hot.  It was a bumpy, rocky route, I think most, if not all, of them fell at one point or another.  They rode 12 miles on day one; 30 miles on day two; and about 12 miles on day three.  And how hard must it be to climb back on your bike on days two and three?!  You know your body is going to be doing some serious complaining!

And if all that wasn't enough to get my attention, one of the warriors, as he was being interviewed, said that it was no big deal to fall off his bike; he was used it.  He said, "If you're not falling, you're not mountain biking hard enough."

I was amazed.  He was practically trying to fall!  I, on the other hand, as if I'd ever do anything so strenuous, would be doing my best not to fall!  I'd slow down, and maybe even walk my bike in places.  But according to this warrior,  I'd be trying so hard not to fall, that I wouldn't be biking hard enough.

And he's probably right.  There's something to be said for caution.  But there's a fine line between caution and fear, and I probably err on the one side a little too often.  And while I'm pretty darn sure I'm never going mountain biking for 100 kilometers, I am praying that I approach strenuous and difficult things in my life with diligence, courage, and perseverance.

~ "The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing;

but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich." ~

Proverbs 13:4