I’m not sure how it happens but you know it always does. Your child says they want to do something and somehow you end up working hard to make it happen.
My oldest daughter recently decided she wanted to run a 5k. I had decided that due to some physical issues and a general lack of desire to get out of my comfy chair, I was not interested. My daughter, though, was excited as her friends were going to run with her and this would be fun!
That should have been my clue that this could go bad.
A few days later she asked me if I would join her on the run with my bike since her friends live nowhere near us. We live in the woods so this is code for:
“I prefer not to run three miles in the woods alone in case I come across a bear or a human creeper.”
I hopped on my bike and thought how much easier this would be since three miles on a bike doing “bear patrol” is easy compared to running. Unfortunately, we had a particularly dry spring so the roads were dusty and as we ventured further into the woods, I discovered another problem.
Sand.
It is every novice biker’s nightmare, especially the middle-age mom not interested in really exerting an effort for three miles. In our hurry to get out on the trail, I had also borrowed my daughter’s cheap bike rather than the more expensive (sand-appropriate) bike I usually ride.
About a half-mile into her run, I realized I was in trouble as she got farther and farther ahead and I kept pushing through that sand to make sure I was close by—in case that bear showed up.
A mile into the ride, she was no longer in sight and I no longer cared about bears, creepers, or humanity for that matter. She was on her own. I was dying and a bear might be a welcome alternative to finishing this run.
Finally, I hopped off and started walking that bike through the sand grumbling and sweating all the way. I pushed the bike the majority of our three mile run that day and decided she was going to have to save me if a bear did show up.
I was out of breath, dirty, and exhausted.
When my daughter turned back for the return trip home and happened upon the sight of me, she looked at me with a great big smile and a twinkle in her eye. She obviously saw the humor in what she saw.
I melted and remembered exactly why I was pushing this bike through the sand.
There are few things more wonderful than watching the ones you love grow and push themselves to do great things. I’ve done a lot of really awesome things in life that have resulted in awards or applause but nothing compares to watching the people you lead excel and become who they were created to be. This stage of my life is developing into a great harvest of watching those seeds I’ve planted in great people (both spiritual and physical kids) grow into something beautiful.
Too often, the temptation is to become insecure when they begin to move ahead of us on the trail. But perhaps we can discover, instead, that in coaching and cheering on the generation behind us, we may be getting more in touch with who we were made to be.
And it is a sweet discovery.
For it’s easy to get caught up in the madness of the world and weariness of it all and in our exhaustion buy into the lie that we have nothing left to give. Getting older doesn’t mean it’s time to check out of life or sit on the sidelines watching, gloating, or complaining while the upcoming generation struggles to find their way. It is an opportunity to use the wisdom we’ve earned through the tough lessons of life to challenge and cheer them on to find God and His purposes for having them on this earth.
It’s a chance to finish strong all the way to the end—even if all you can do is push.
Too often, we hear the phrase: “This is the day that the Lord has made…” but what we do with each day He makes for us is entirely up to us.
If we have a day, we have an opportunity. Our bodies may be slowing or changing but we still have our voice. They need to hear what we have to say because it’s been discovered through years of toil, pain, and experience. They need to know that they have what it takes to pick up the baton and stand for what is right. They need to remember in the midst of the day’s madness why we are all here on this earth and what will really last forever.
For how can we rejoice and be glad in any day unless we learn to reach behind and grab the arms of those who are found there and bring them with us?
Some of the sweet joys of eternity will be found in the celebration of our eternal relationships established here in this world.
Bear patrol.
It sounded so wonderful. It felt so awful.
But this little ride was a precious memory of what really matters in life as I watched the strength of that seventeen year-old girl run past me with a great big smile on her face and a great big swelling of my heart.
And I kept pushing and pedaling all the way to the end.