Category: Reflections

I sat on my first handcycle in March, 1999. You can read the story of The First Ride, but it’s fair to say that two blocks in thirty minutes wasn’t exactly a rousing success. (Amazing how primitive that bike looks now.) I’d just spent more than ten years whining and giving up. But when I […]

Every so often I encounter the word “normal” in a context that baffles me. Yesterday I read about an amazing Paralympic athlete who “used to be normal” before an accident caused a spinal cord injury. So now, I suppose he’s, what–abnormal? I wrote these thoughts in November, 2011. # # # Before our latest ride […]

It’s not all that often that you see a piece of the dream right in your own living room. I’ve always hoped RICH’S RIDE would create a community that empowers people who work together as servant leaders and offer hope to others. Yesterday a bunch of folks gathered at our home. Everyone was there because […]

Hope offers an interesting paradox. Hope looks forward with confidence and trust based on faith, a faith that comes at least partly from looking back and knowing God has always kept His promises. So hope looks to the future based on past faithfulness. Certainly we live with confidence because salvation is assured, but hope isn’t […]

How do you get the most from life? The headline promoted another foolproof strategy for identifying what you want from life—and getting it. Who wouldn’t sign up for that? I’m certain God didn’t create us to spin the hamster wheel that for many has become the American dream—we go to work to get the money […]

I love this picture. We use it throughout our workshop at Harvest Farm. The first time I show it I ask the guys what the sheep might be thinking. What’s your first reaction? Some of the responses are fairly predictable. Don’t look down! This isn’t fair. How did I get myself into this mess? Holy […]

“Trust God for the results.” I find myself using that phrase a lot lately. Perhaps it’s a season in which I need to remember to focus on what I can control and release what I can’t. The complete phrase is “Work hard and trust God for the results.” What I CAN control is my effort. […]

I love unexpected questions. Mostly. The guys in my seminar at Harvest Farm make me think. I love it, though there are times I wish I had a PA– USE button. We were discussing fear. I said, “One of the Enemy’s most powerful lies is ‘You have to REACT to your fear.’” Then we listed […]

“I wish they’d cancel practice today.” I used to chuckle when students in my classes complained about a team practice. “If you don’t like the sport, why’d you join the team?” I used to have the same internal debate with myself before a training ride. I’d procrastinate as though handcycling was some sort of punishment. […]

It’s kinda fun to wear matching jerseys just like the members of a real cycling team. Of course we didn’t have a high-tech team bus with sponsor names plastered on the sides. Our team didn’t have specialized climbers, sprinters, time trialists, or domestiques (the riders who assist the team leaders). One thing we did have […]

They don’t write headlines about guys like Woody. “Guy Serves Quietly In Background” “Man Shows Up And Does Useful Stuff” “Servant Seeks Tasks Without Being Asked” If someone wrote a story about Woody, you’d know things he would never tell you himself. You’d know he spent an hour beside the road with a guy whose […]