Sunday, March 17, 2013

Lent Day 32 (Sunday)

Exercise: Cycling 35 miles.  This was the normal Brookwood Cycling ride.  I really do like going on this ride, because of the people that are a part of it.  It was really windy out today, but the weather really did welcome Spring in a little early.  Soon we'll get past the cool Spring days and be back to the heat of Summer.  From a cycling perspective I will welcome the warmer weather while hating dealing with the sunscreen and the excessive amounts of sweat.  Then by about August I'll be ready for the weather to change again.  

Verse:

Psalm 23:1-3
New King James Version (NKJV)

The Lord the Shepherd of His People
A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.


Thoughts: It's amazing how the little things really make a difference some days.  Sometimes it can be the little things that get you frustrated, like running out of milk when you really just want to have a bowl of cereal.  Other times, the little things remind you of just how much you are blessed with.  In the last two years so many big things have happened in my life, and the life of my family, that it's amazing some of the little reminders are really the most powerful.  In March of 2011 we were still in Florida, I knew that things had to change, and we were trusting in God that his will would be done.  In the next 6 months we'd be apart for a while, I'd be starting a new job, and we were preparing for a move 600 miles from the only home that my girls ever knew.  We are in a new home, we have met new people, and we've had new experiences.  Through my time with Rob's Big Losers I found fitness, I've found cycling, and I've manged to be able to ride almost as often as I'd like to.  I wouldn't have fathomed saying that I was signed up for the Assault on Mount Mitchell 2 years ago.

That said, the little things remind me of how much I'm blessed.  Last Spring I went on a ride hosted by the GHS Every Women's team.  I had been on group rides prior to this, but this was definitely a bigger ride for me.  On the way out I managed to not keep my line, but instead of being crazy and hurting others I ended up crashing into some bushes.  I was okay, outside of some scrapes that needed a bandage or two, and the bike was okay after a few minor repairs.  I finished that ride, and then later for the little thing that reminds me of how much I'm blessed.  Buried in the heel of my cycling shoe was a splinter of wood.  It was big enough to actually damage the shoe slightly, but the shoe is what took the damage.  That piece of wood could have found it's way just inches higher and been wedged in my leg.  It could have meant an end to so many other things in our lives, but instead it ended up in the heel of my shoe.  I've kept it there as a reminder of how blessed I was that and every other day for the gifts that I've been given.  I know that the opportunities that I enjoy today aren't by my own doing as much as by my faith in God.  I don't always manage to honor Him with my actions, but I know that I'm loved, forgiven, and saved.  I just do my best to show his love in the little things, not just in grand shows that everyone can see.  Because sometimes the little things have the biggest impact.

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