photo by BaronBrian
The trail curves to the right and I follow it. Trees on both sides, dirt below, blue skies above–I should be enjoying this ride. But I’ve never been mountain biking before and I have no idea where I am or how far I have to go.
I’ve come on a first date with this cute boy {now my husband} and I’m determined to impress him. But now he’s nowhere in sight. I feel a twinge of panic in my chest and an ache in my legs. I imagine getting chased by a bear. Or a squirrel. Either one could probably take me at this point.
Then I swerve around the next bend and see two things: the parking lot and that cute boy. I was only a few feet from the goal but I didn’t know it.
That’s how it can feel with our God-sized dreams or anything new in our lives. We’ve never been this way before and we’re unsure of exactly where we’re going. Excitement gives way to worry. We don’t know if our hearts can keep up the pace much longer. And by the way, where’s God? Wasn’t he supposed to be taking the lead?
Then all of a sudden, we’re there.
I don’t know how far you have to go on your God-sized dream but I do know this: you’ve already come further than you realize.
Last week your “do what you can” step for your God-sized dream was this: think back to another time when you took positive action in your life. {Unless you’re still eating baby food, crawling and wearing onesies you’ve already come a long way!} What’s one thing that helped you move forward that you could apply again now and someone else could benefit from hearing too? Write a post about your answer and link it up here tomorrow. {If you don’t have a blog, you can share in the comments.}
I pull my mountain bike up next to the cute boy in the parking lot. Trying to play it cool I ask, “So how far did we go?” He grins and replies, “Eleven miles.” On the outside I say, “That’s great.” On the inside I think, “Eleven miles! I can’t believe I went that far and a killer squirrel didn’t eat me.” If I had known on the front end how far I had to go, I might have suggested we bond over cupcakes instead.
But it turned out I had more strength in me than I realized. You do too.
And wherever God is taking you, you’re going to make it.
You may even be a whole lot closer than you can see.
Keep going, friend.
XOXO
