Riding Tandem
Sorry I missed last week. We had a grand family reunion in Branson, MO. You can see some of our family fun here, if you'd like.
I really enjoy riding bikes with my mini mortals, but we hadn't gone for a while. Why, you may ask? My 6 year-old mini mortal rides at a fairly fast pace, and my 4 year-old mini mortal couldn't keep up. I can't keep up with her and hang back with him simultaneously. We don't have extremely safe roads to ride on, either. I knew I could trust my 6 year-old mini mortal on them, but not the 4 year-old. I really, REALLY wanted a Trail-a-Bike, but I really, really, REALLY didn't want to spend that much money on a Trail-a-Bike. I waffled back and forth, but ultimately decided there was no way I could justify spending that much money on something that we'd only use for a few years and could sell at just a fraction of the cost on Craigslist when we were done with it. I was sad, but knew I made the best decision. Then, I went to Blessingdales, a local thrift store, to pick up some ugly ties for a project we were doing. As I pulled up, I noticed they had a Trail-a-Bike out front. I didn't get too excited because I figured it would still be pretty expensive. I jumped out of the car and checked out the price tag. It was a whopping $10!!!!!! I grabbed it up and virtually ran into the store with it. (Embarrassingly, the door frame got a bit dinged in my excitement). I handed the clerk the tag and finished up our shopping. I got it home and proceeded to get it hooked up to my bike. I took my 4 year-old mini mortal for a ride first. It was like lugging a 45 lb. sack of potatoes on the back of my bike. I kept asking him if he was pedaling. He "assured" me he was, but I'm pretty sure his little legs stayed firmly in one spot the whole ride. I thought I was going to die by the time I got back home, and our ride wasn't that long. After his ride, I took my 6 year-old mini mortal out for a ride. WHOA, what a difference. She pedaled like crazy! We zoomed through the neighborhood and had a wonderful, smooth ride together. We made it around the block in record time. Although I was able to make it around the block with both mini mortals, it was much easier when someone helped.
The Lord can do all things. He can "get the bike around the block" so to speak without us, just as I was able to complete the ride with both mini mortals. Just as I knew what my mini mortals were doing on our ride, in Rev. 2:19 we read, "I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works..." He knows what in our hearts and asks us to help Him (and become more like Him) by acting as His hands on earth through serving others. It makes His work go more smoothly. We show true charity when we serve. The definition of charity is the pure love of Christ. Love is an action verb. Love pushes us to serve those around us. I hope that in my life I can remember to serve as the Lord did. He loved and served all His days on earth. A poem by St. Teresa of Avila entitled Christ Has No Body begins, "Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours..." We have the opportunity to truly be His hands on earth by serving and loving others.
I really enjoy riding bikes with my mini mortals, but we hadn't gone for a while. Why, you may ask? My 6 year-old mini mortal rides at a fairly fast pace, and my 4 year-old mini mortal couldn't keep up. I can't keep up with her and hang back with him simultaneously. We don't have extremely safe roads to ride on, either. I knew I could trust my 6 year-old mini mortal on them, but not the 4 year-old. I really, REALLY wanted a Trail-a-Bike, but I really, really, REALLY didn't want to spend that much money on a Trail-a-Bike. I waffled back and forth, but ultimately decided there was no way I could justify spending that much money on something that we'd only use for a few years and could sell at just a fraction of the cost on Craigslist when we were done with it. I was sad, but knew I made the best decision. Then, I went to Blessingdales, a local thrift store, to pick up some ugly ties for a project we were doing. As I pulled up, I noticed they had a Trail-a-Bike out front. I didn't get too excited because I figured it would still be pretty expensive. I jumped out of the car and checked out the price tag. It was a whopping $10!!!!!! I grabbed it up and virtually ran into the store with it. (Embarrassingly, the door frame got a bit dinged in my excitement). I handed the clerk the tag and finished up our shopping. I got it home and proceeded to get it hooked up to my bike. I took my 4 year-old mini mortal for a ride first. It was like lugging a 45 lb. sack of potatoes on the back of my bike. I kept asking him if he was pedaling. He "assured" me he was, but I'm pretty sure his little legs stayed firmly in one spot the whole ride. I thought I was going to die by the time I got back home, and our ride wasn't that long. After his ride, I took my 6 year-old mini mortal out for a ride. WHOA, what a difference. She pedaled like crazy! We zoomed through the neighborhood and had a wonderful, smooth ride together. We made it around the block in record time. Although I was able to make it around the block with both mini mortals, it was much easier when someone helped.
The Lord can do all things. He can "get the bike around the block" so to speak without us, just as I was able to complete the ride with both mini mortals. Just as I knew what my mini mortals were doing on our ride, in Rev. 2:19 we read, "I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works..." He knows what in our hearts and asks us to help Him (and become more like Him) by acting as His hands on earth through serving others. It makes His work go more smoothly. We show true charity when we serve. The definition of charity is the pure love of Christ. Love is an action verb. Love pushes us to serve those around us. I hope that in my life I can remember to serve as the Lord did. He loved and served all His days on earth. A poem by St. Teresa of Avila entitled Christ Has No Body begins, "Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours..." We have the opportunity to truly be His hands on earth by serving and loving others.
