Keep peddling through the rough times

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I was reminded recently of a time when I was a young boy and my family went camping for the week. One day that week my mom and dad decided we were all going to garage “sale-ing.”

Now to me – a garage sale is a noun – it’s a boring place, or a thing.

But to my mom – it was a fun, action verb – that’s why she called it – garage “sale-ing!” Some people like to go swimming, or hiking, or para-sailing – but my mom likes to go garage “sale-ing.”

Us kids, on the other hand, hated it and dreaded it! Nevertheless they dragged us around with them all morning from one garage sale to the next; because they didn’t want me and my little brother swimming or riding our bikes without them being there.

Well that afternoon we asked if they could drop us off at the campground, and we wouldn’t swim and we wouldn’t ride our bikes, we would just rent one of the tandem bikes they had there at the camp office (you know, one of those two-seater bikes).

That way I would have to ride with my older brother and my little brother would have to ride with our older sister, and we would have to stay right with them – and Mom and Dad agreed with the plan.

Now I realized pretty quickly that I couldn’t go everywhere I wanted to go, because my brother was in the front. He had the driver’s seat.

Sometimes he took us down rough gravel pathways. Other times we had to peddle hard up a long, steep hill; and then we would go really fast down the other side, with the wind blowing through our hair.

Every once in a while I would say, “Hey lets go that way.” And he always said the same thing… “Just keep peddling!” So I just kept peddling.

I may not have gone everywhere I wanted to go – but that afternoon turned out to be a blast – way better than going to boring garage sales! There was a great since of freedom, excitement, and adventure in working together and learning to trust the one in the front.

Over the years, I’ve come to realize that’s how a Christian should learn to live their life. Instead of doing things our own way, we have to learn to live in tandem with Jesus. When you decide to take the back-seat and follow His directions – you’ll find a freedom and fulfillment in life like you’ve never known before.

So next time you start to doubt and get frustrated with where God seems to be leading you, when the road seems to rough or too steep, just take a minute to listen – and you’ll hear the voice of the Holy Spirit say, “Just keep peddling. Just keep peddling.”

And it’s true, you can trust Him – so just keep peddling. Keep enduring through the rough times! Keep reading His Word! Keep going to church! Keep serving the Lord! — Just keep peddling!

And when you do that – He’ll get you right where you need to be in order to live in “His good, and pleasing, and perfect will.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

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By Pastor Chad Wilson

Your pastor speaks

The writer is the pastor of the Sidney First Church of the Nazarene.

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