This is a letter that was sent to those who expressed an interest in my training and/ or are supporting my ride through prayer, warm fuzzies or donations to the MS Society. (And for those of you who mailed checks to me, I will be turning them in to the Society on March 25. And for those who still want to mail checks, have no fear—I can still turn them in after that date, as well. J )
In my last note I said I would be trying out some hills with Gary a few days later. We cycled through 2 state parks in Bastrop, Texas twice. These parks are on the MS ride route and I’ve been told their hills are the most grueling of the MS ride. I hope that’s true… that morning held quite a few challenges for me. The roads were slick and twisty and the hills were quite steep. Twice I fell as I learned how to maneuver my gears. I was terrified at some points, flying down the hills and wondering which way the road would turn and if there was a climb or more descent ahead of me.
A Bible verse one of you sent to me and my Bible study two days prior gave me a lot of strength for that ride.
The verses I meditated on were Psalm 121:1-2, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.” I needed, and called on, that help a LOT that morning!
In my women’s Bible study that week we discussed Jesus’ meeting in the upper room with his disciples prior to His crucifixion. Jesus was stressing the importance of their trust in Him. They seemed to want step-by–step instruction and He was telling them not to worry about those, as their relationship with Him would guide them. Our study leader suggested that the disciples wanted a roadmap, whereas Jesus was stressing the need for a relationship. On that ride, I had to keep reminding myself that I didn’t need a roadmap to see what was ahead… Jesus would guide me if I would just have faith. What a lesson for me to see literally as well as figuratively.
I learned a lot on that ride about myself, my relationship with Jesus and my bicycle, as I finally learned how to shift those gears.
The next weekend I rode 36 miles in my second official training ride. This ride was also quite hilly, so I was able to put my biking lessons into practice from the previous weekend and I worked through all the gears on my bicycle… and never fell. J Jack (age 4) was so proud of me.
This weekend I’m signed up to ride 68 miles in another training ride. I’m a little intimidated by the distance, but I think it’s time to give it a try. And even if I were to go shorter this weekend, I’m planning 70 miles for March 15, so I guess I might as well give it a go. Please continue to pray for me. Each of my rides has built my confidence in some way, even if it did not go exactly as I had initially hoped. And with every ride I’ve heard God whispering things in my ear. I pray that this ride will continue to build my confidence and that I again will hear God speaking to me.
Thank you so much for your support of, and interest in, my ride. I really appreciate it. Today I received an email from our team coach ranking the team’s fundraisers and I was listed as #10, which was pretty exciting to see. What he doesn’t know, though, is that I’ve also got a ton of support through prayer, as well!!
I really appreciate your support and interest. This has been an exciting time for me. It’s hard to believe that we’re just over 5 weeks away from April 12-13 and the big ride.
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