“Didn’t you get tired?”
I told the story of my 1500-mile Mississippi River handcycle ride to a group of men earlier this week, and I guess I glossed over the hard parts. When you talk about a big dream, it’s easy to recall sunshine and smooth roads.
I did get tired. A lot. And here’s a funny thing about that trip, something we didn’t expect. On many days when I was merely tired, Becky was exhausted.
Becky was my SAG driver, so she drove the car, managed the gear, navigated, and tried to keep me fed and hydrated. Turns out her job was much harder than mine. All I did was crank the bike.
We learned that “tired” is part of the deal when we’re engaged in a cause bigger than ourselves.
I began the ride with visions of how the days would unfold. My visions didn’t include flat tires on cold, rainy days. They didn’t include endless rolling hills that challenged my arms and slowed progress to a seeming crawl. They didn’t include falling into bed after 16 hours of riding and writing, rising to eat my Fruit Loops and jump back on the road again, reminding myself that this was exactly why I came.
“Tired” tries to trick us into giving up. “Tired” wants us to believe it’s not worth it, that we can’t possibly see past the momentary discomfort to a greater goal.
Sadly, too many folks perceive “tired” as a sign that something’s wrong. Somehow they think God will provide an endless supply of energy if they’re doing His work.
You Will Get Tired
“Tired” is part of how God made us. A cause bigger than ourselves demands some sort of sacrifice. Maybe it’s riding a bike, but there are lots of other ways people make sacrifices to show Jesus’ love. It’s hard work, and we should get tired. So we rest, we sleep, and we get up and get going because the work matters.
Most of us, including myself, would like to avoid the “sacrifice” part. We’ve sort of whittled sacrifice down to something that fits pretty comfortably within our relatively safe, easy lifestyle. It’s awfully easy to give from my abundance–physical, emotional, or spiritual–and call it sacrifice.
Perhaps the greatest benefit Becky and I received from that 1500-mile trip was the experience of shared sacrifice. We engaged for 8 weeks in sharing a story bigger than ourselves. It was hard, and we got tired. It was a good kind of tired. The rest at the end was pretty satisfying.
We want to share that experience of shared sacrifice with others–with you. That’s the whole point of the FRONT RANGE FREEDOM TOUR.
You’ll be part of a community that cycles to support kids rescued from human trafficking. Maybe you’ll do the 500-mile tour, or perhaps you’ll choose the one-day Freedom Tour Prologue. If you’re not a cyclist, there are lots of other ways to get involved.
You’ll have a lot of fun. You’ll learn something about yourself, about trusting God and stepping out of your comfort zone. You’ll be part of a big story, offering hope and freedom to the kids at the HOME OF HOPE. You’ll work hard.
You will get tired.