How Do You Begin?

There’s something anticlimactic about the beginning of a long-awaited event. It’s never quite as big as all the work you put into it.

We’ve had January 28, 2013 circled on the calendar for a long time. Finally all the planning and imagining’s over, and the sun will rise on another ordinary day. We’ll eat breakfast and head out to the parking lot. I’ll climb onto the bike just like I’ve done thousands of times before. There won’t even be a brass band.

I’ll crank onto the street, turn left, and just like that the journey will be underway. And maybe I’ll think about the adage that says “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single crank.” Okay, that’s not exactly what it says, but I don’t relate to the “step” thing.

One mile will melt into five, the newness will fade, and we’ll settle into the rhythm of cranking down the road.

I used to get disappointed by this sense that something was missing at the beginning of a significant project. Now, I think we tend to make too much of the ceremony around starting. Mostly I think what matters is to get going.

We’ll pray first. We’ll do helmets up, a tradition we borrowed from our Venture Expeditions friends. Then we’ll head down the road because there’s a lot to see and do.

We don’t know what God has in mind for this trip. We hope He’ll bring people across our paths who need to hear about hope and possibility. At this point, a lot of things haven’t fallen into place as we thought they would. We’re reminding ourselves to be patient and open to the possibilities around us.

Becky’s a lot better at that than I am. That’s why she’s the organizer. I just ride a bike.

Here’s what I know for sure: we can’t do anything until we start. So that’s what we’re doing today.

I hope you join us.