Gears

I went out on my bike again this evening. I’m trying to build up my fitness again after being ill. To be honest it hasn’t been too bad and I’ve been quite surprised that I haven’t found it a little more challenging. Not that I’m complaining of course! Far from it. The first time I went out it was a case of “take it easy, don’t try to go fast.” I had to be disciplined to go at a pace that was nice and easy since I had no real idea how I would respond. But it was good. By the third time out I was pushing it a little while trying not to push too hard. I did well just going with the way I felt. And, because I know you want to know, I went round the circuit five minutes quicker than the time before. I know, I know. But it made me feel good. So today I went out wondering how it would go this time. It felt harder work to be honest. And today I was thinking: “thank goodness for gears.” I have a mountain bike which has lots and lots of gears. When I was a kid, the bike I really wanted had five gears. If you had bike with five gears, it was a good bike. My mountain bike has 18 gears (it may even be 21). That’s a lot of gears. I don’t think I’ve used them all and I’ve had the bike for about five years! The thing about gears is that there’s one for every terrain. And if you don’t have them on a mountain bile, you won’t get round the course. What I’ve realised though is you have to learn to use your gears well. I’m wondering if life too needs gears. And that maybe gears are a gift to us. There are times when life is good and easy and we can cruise along in a fast gear. But there are times when life is challenging bad difficult and we need a different gear to help us through. Knowing which gear we need at any point in life becomes critical. Sometimes we need to forge ahead with enthusiasm and vigour. Sometimes we need to rest. Sometimes we need to do it alone. Sometimes we need to seek the help of others. Sometimes we need to be still. Sometimes we need to move on. Sometimes we need to pray. Sometime we need others to pray on our behalf. Maybe they’re all gears. And maybe we would do well to choose best gear in every season of life. Part way around my ride today I realised that the gears weren’t working properly. I couldn’t change between the three bigger cogs by the pedals. I was able to keep riding because I could use the gears that were working. I’ll b fine if I stick to the route I took today. Or the Worth Way. But if I try to ride through more challenging terrain, I’ll struggle. I won’t have the gears I need because something is broken. I need to get it fixed. I need to attend to what is broken. Perhaps gears are God’s git to us to help us negotiate our way through life well. And, if that’s true, then maybe I need to attend to them and use them well. And maybe you do too.