I’ve shared a couple of lessons from COLORADO MOUNTAIN TOUR 2021.
There’s one more. I hope I keep re-learning this one.
Even on a team, every person travels their own journey.
As part of a team, we ask people to sacrifice and serve. Some of that is obvious and public; some is private and unseen by others. Some of the quiet stuff can be discovered with patience, time, and discernment; some will always remain hidden.
Because we have this human tendency to compare, circumstances might appear unfair or unequal to someone who doesn’t know the whole story. When I judge too quickly, I rob myself of the opportunity to connect and empathize.
As a leader, I’m sometimes aware of “issues” I’m not free to discuss. It works the other way, of course, when I’m completely oblivious to stuff others observe readily.
So this is a reminder to me, and maybe to you, that there’s nearly always more to the story than what we know.
I think that’s why Jesus told us not to judge. He’s the one who sees the entire landscape, the whole context. Thankfully, He looks through the lens of infinite grace, a skill I haven’t quite mastered.
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Frankly, when a team of diverse individuals traveling separate paths comes together, some measure of disagreement and even conflict aren’t a surprise. Twenty-two people with a broad age and ability range who trained separately, some of whom met for the first time on Day 1, with families and jobs and all sorts of individual distractions, tossed into close-quarters living and riding – the miracle is how remarkably well we came together.
What if you and I remember that every person travels their own journey, and we often don’t know the nature of their path? What if we extend to others the grace we hope for ourselves?
What if we remember that this is about more than bike rides?