Lent Day 28 (Wednesday)

Exercise:  Rest.  Impromptu all hands meetings and family needs helped keep me off the bike today.  Sometimes it's more important to handle disappointment and changing of plans than it is to just persevere.  Tomorrow is the first evening bike shop ride of the season, the extra rest should mean my legs are ready for the challenge.

Verse:

Romans 8:28-30
New International Version (NIV)
²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Thoughts: When I started this attempt to write during Lent, I thought about what would happen when I really had nothing to write about.  Not that nothing actually happened, but when I really didn't have something I felt like I needed to say.  Today was shaping up to be that day, and I had already mentally thought about just not posting.  With that I read through my social media feed, and one of the bloggers I follow had posted up this article about Taylor Phinney.  After reading it, and tearing up, I realized that I had been given what I should write about.  Too often we look at a struggle as something to 'win'.  If you aren't first then it doesn't matter.  Taylor wasn't going to win that penultimate stage.  The fact was that he was just as likely to get cut from the race by being too far behind.  He didn't keep going just for himself, but because he knew that if his dad could be on that bike he wouldn't give up just because it was hard.  He took the gift that he's been given and gave it his all.  

Too often I look at my times on Strava and see that I'm 110/112 on a popular climb.  I need to remember that out of the millions of people in this country, less than 1% attempt some of the things that I'm trying to do.  Even if you are hours behind the next to last person, you've done something amazing.  Taking the challenge, meeting it head on, and letting God work through you can show amazing things. We just need to give it our all.