RICH’S RIDE involves a lot of unexpected appointments.
We plan a lot. A big part of our purpose is to share our story and talk about hope, so we set up speaking gigs and media connections. But often the most important opportunities arise in completely unexpected circumstances. I suppose some would see these as coincidence.
We believe they’re appointments that weren’t on our schedule.
Becky had an unexpected appointment Wednesday at the top of U.S. Hill. While she waited for me to creep to the summit, the trailer and our 80-lb people magnet attracted lots of attention. People wanted to know what it was all about, and Becky talked a lot about handcycling and Convoy of Hope.
Becky’s words: “One pair of couples lingered a bit. It was a God moment. Rich finished lunch and headed down the hill. Normally I’d have hurried around to get things picked up so I could follow, but for some reason I slowed down. We talked a while about handcycling and bike rides, but when I mentioned hope one of the women (we’ll call her Judy) burst into tears and walked a few feet away. Her husband followed and hugged her.
“The woman who remained told me what was happening. Her sister has cancer. In the challenging times of life, like when cancer becomes part of the reality, our emotions can creep into the moment when least expected. We were all crying, a circle of hearts caring for one another. We all hugged and hearts were opened. A personal story about hope mixed in with a bald guy riding a handcycle and a loving white lab transformed strangers into friends.
“After a few minutes, Judy and her husband rejoined the group and everyone cried together. Then Judy said quietly, “Tell me about hope.”
Becky says she doesn’t remember what she said. She did tell Judy, “There’s always hope. I believe God loves you and God is where I base my faith and hope.”
That’s the key—we can always look to the future with confidence because we believe God keeps His promises. That’s hope.
Hopeless is a lie.
In the big stuff that challenges our understanding—a cancer diagnosis, a horrible accident, a loss, we face scary times. These folks have every reason to be scared.
Jesus never said we shouldn’t feel scared. He did say we didn’t have to be controlled by our fear. He said we could face our fear because He’s always with us.
“Take courage. I AM. Don’t be afraid.”
I’m not sure what else we accomplished on Wednesday. Doesn’t matter.
This appointment justified the effort. It wasn’t unscheduled. We just didn’t know about it ahead of time.
Ever wonder how many of these appointments we miss because we’re slaves to the wrong schedule?
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We met some folks from New Jersey at the top of the hill. They were quite impressed with my New York Yankees cap.
Want to see what it looked like when an old guy FINALLY reached the top of U.S. Hill? Warning—there’s not much action. The suspense comes from whether I’ll roll back down the hill.
Can’t see the video? Click here.
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Today we drive to Albuquerque for a morning visit with the Life Recovery group at Joy Junction. Then we MAY try to do some biking.
Saturday morning we’re supposed to do a live TV appearance from the Balloon Fiesta Field. Freezing temperatures, wind, Monte, and hundreds of hot air balloons—what could possibly go wrong?
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So many divine appointments around us, if only we would take the time to slow down. Great story you guys.