Bicycle Beginnings

Think back to different summers. When you return, soooo many people asked what you did for the summer... if not made you write about it for a class. It can get a bit old telling, re-telling, and re-telling more. And then you listen to their story, and it's like WAY more cool, or awesome...or your next year's vacation plan...

And then, somewhere, you read about a trip someone did, that blows all normality  away. They hunted in the Arctic and got attacked by a polar bear. They hunted in an African safari. They sailed around the world for fun. And it's like Whoa. "Someday...." with the understanding that it'll never happen.

Can it be real?! Yes it can!

 One of those "never-going-to-happen-trips" became reality. "Someday"... became this last summer! After a "yes" to a mostly joking "need another person?!",  Bicycle France planning began. I never earned, deserved, or could have done it on my own. Oh man! The joy and excitement the planning brought! My/our fingers flew over the keyboard as we talked about different things... ferries, maps, supplies, itineraries, equipment...! Skype calls. Bike's bought. Begin riding. Paniers and compact sleeping bags perused, analyzed and bought. Ride and ride. Hammock or tent? Spoke replacements. Ride, ride, ride! England and Ireland added to itinerary! Ferry tickets bought. Airplane tickets bought with bike reservations.

Frustrating days at work? Knowing that there was a future and a hope for something big that summer kept me cool. Bad weather? Enjoyed and embraced it...on the trip there wouldn't be a choice. Unknown future plans? They dimmed in light of knowing what the future most likely held. More frustrations? Hope and joy from the soon-to-be reality of the trip kept oozing through when disappointments came up. Joy about the trip couldn't be dimmed by misunderstandings or miscommunications or even non-communications! A tangible, future hope.

Gear check and distribution!

Hope didn't stop at the start or end of the trip though. Those disappointments of work, live, communication... their antidote of "trip-hope"  opened understanding to true hope. Hope is looking to future certainties and living in light of them. I knew that there was something more coming-the bike trip. But that bike trip is done. Over.

True hope lasts. God's hope is so much more, and lasts. God is faithful, never changes. God's made promises of a future in Heaven for those who know Him personally. Because of His faithfulness, those promises will hold true. What a joy to look forward to ~being with God! Those same disappointments, plus others, came up again during and now after the trip. Yet God's hope is here now and forever!

What is God's hope? He loves me; He loves you; He died for my sin, and He died for yours. I get to be with Him. In Heaven. In a perfect place, with HIM! Where He is, there will be no injustice, anger, hate, hurt, or pain. There will be care, understanding, and joy! Perfect relationships and purity. God will punish evil and reward good because He is perfect and can't let sin into Heaven. Evil and sin can't enter heaven without a perfect sacrifice. So Jesus, perfect Son of God, died and allows me, allows us, to accept what He's done in place of ourselves dying and going to hell. And I'm headed there because He has saved me and I've accepted that!

That's my Hope.
Where is yours?

My Hope grows stronger when I look at the end,

Even when "Unknown" lies beyond this bend.