Walking Lessons: Pedaling Downhill
April 23, 2007
Every day that our Chicago weather is humane, Child Two (C2) and I go for a walk.
Rather, I walk, she rides her bike.
She’s got one of those low to the ground, plastic three-wheeled bikes, the kind where the pedals are attached to the front wheel and the back two wheels are behind her seat. So when we go up inclines, she has to work really hard to make it to the top.
We’ve been working on this together. I walk behind her and let her know when there’s a “hill” coming that she’s going to need to prepare for. And I’ve noticed that these hills are usually preceded by a downward slope that she’s content to coast on.
“Start pedaling,” I tell her as her feet fly off the bike and she “wheees” down the slope. “If you don’t start pedaling now, you won’t make it up that hill.”
It struck me as we were walking Friday that our lives are very much like those slopes and inclines. The downward slopes are fun and easy. It’s tempting to sit back, lift our feet from the pedals, and do nothing. Who needs time with God when life is great? Who needs to pray? Who needs church?
But those uphill climbs are coming. If we’ve neglected God, the Bible, fellow Christians, prayer, we’ve in essence stopped pedaling, and the second we hit that hill, we stop moving forward and slide backward.
Why? Because we left the source of our power.
Avoid the temptation to stop pedaling when life is great. Remember that even in the good days, we get our power, our strength from God. And in those easy days, we can build our strength for the tough times coming.
Comments
2 Responses to “Walking Lessons: Pedaling Downhill”
How right you are. I’ve had a really hard time remembering that but you just reinforced my goal for this year – to keep God in my life at ALL times. I know He doesn’t mind hearing from me when things are bad and I’m lamenting but I know that He probably relishes in the moments when he gets a good “call” – gets to share in the downward slopes.
Excellent thought – I would never be this coherent at at 2:30 in the morning.
That’s my goal, too, Erin. It’s too easy to get slack spiritually when things are hunky-dory!