What a bike trip taught me about God
A couple of summers ago, I was cycling down a mountain pass at almost 40 miles per hour on the back of a tandem bike when our front tire blew out. The bike wobbled, and we lost control.
This wasn’t the first time I’d had to pray on this 5,200-mile ride across the United States. In fact, because of my study and practice of Christian Science, I’d come to see how the lessons I was learning on this ride about trust, communication, and receptivity also applied to my relationship with God.
So when our tire blew out, I immediately prayed, knowing that God, who is all-power, was in control of the situation. I started to put a foot down in case I needed to stabilize the bike to keep us from falling. But very quickly, my husband, who was riding in the front, had slowed the bike enough so that he could bring it to a safe stop. We also learned we were only a mile or two from a service station and were able to walk the bike there and have the tire replaced at a nearby bike shop.
I didn’t know how I would be able to finish the trip.
As much as I was grateful for the way we’d been protected during that experience, I started feeling fearful. There were a lot more hills to ride up and down across the country, and I knew that I wouldn’t be a very good cycling partner if I was afraid all the time. Honestly, I didn’t know how I would be able to finish the trip.
So I prayed some more. And I thought about those qualities of trust, communication, and receptivity.
In my relationship with God, it’s most effective if I trust in God. From the back seat of my bike, I can’t see in front of me. Similarly, in life, I can’t see the future. But I can trust that God has a way forward for me and that way forward is good because God is good. I’d read in the Bible many times: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). To me that means that God, being infinite intelligence, knows better than we do what we need and we can trust Him wholeheartedly.
The second quality, communication, is important on a tandem bike because both riders need to know when to start pedaling, when to signal left or right, and when to take a break. Communication makes things flow more smoothly and keeps you safe.
Likewise, communication is also important in our relationship with God. This can be through heartfelt gratitude, or through any other form of prayer—especially when we’re open to God’s messages. Mary Baker Eddy, the Founder of Christian Science, wrote about this. She says, “The Soul-inspired patriarchs heard the voice of Truth, and talked with God as consciously as man talks with man” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 308). In other words, the stories in the Bible set an example of what our prayers can look like. And the ideas we get from God not only keep us on the right path but also keep our lives flowing smoothly.
The third quality I learned from riding a tandem bicycle was the need to be alert to what’s going on around you. You need to be willing to change your plans if needed.
The ideas we get from God not only keep us on the right path but also keep our lives flowing smoothly.
With God, we also have to be alert and receptive to God’s guidance and His goodness. We need to be willing to adjust if God tells us there’s a better way of doing something, because God’s way is always the best, most loving way.
While praying, I also found comfort in the words to Hymn 350 from the Christian Science Hymnal:
Though we pass through tribulation,
All will be well;
Ours is such a full salvation,
All must be well;
Happy still, in God confiding,
Fruitful, when in Christ abiding,
Holy, through the Spirit’s guiding;
All, all is well.
(Mary Peters, adapt. © CSBD)
The words to that hymn and my deeper understanding of those qualities of God healed me of my fear, and we had a successful, fulfilling trip!
It takes practice to ride a tandem bike. It also takes practice to trust God, listen to Him, and be receptive to all the good God gives us. And when we’re open to that goodness, we’ll find that it blesses us and gives us opportunities to grow. As I learned that summer, it’s as easy as riding a bike!
