Alisha's Tricycle - August
28, 2001
As the days have begun to get a little cooler, I have
tried to spend some time outside with the girls. We like
to go to the park, fly kites and draw on the driveway
with chalk, but our favorite activity is bike riding.
Kayla has a big bike with training wheels and she pedals
up and down the sidewalk with ease. Alisha has a neat
pink plastic tricycle with a long handle on the back for
adult locomotion. You can find us out circling the block,
Kayla racing ahead, Alisha eagerly following with me
walking behind pushing away and wondering when playing
turned into so much work. It took a while for Alisha to
learn that even though I was doing the pushing, she was
responsible for the steering. It is quite a sight from my
perspective. Alisha will be doing pretty good staying on
the narrow sidewalk until her attention is distracted by
a flower or tree or house or car or almost anything at
all, and then BUMP ... she runs right off into the grass.
I wait patiently (most of the time) while she stands up
and drags the trike back onto the sidewalk and we start
back on our journey again. Sometimes when home is in
sight and I am tired, the little detours seem to take
forever. We could get home so much faster and easier if
she would just keep her eyes focused on the path.
I wonder how God feels as He watches us travel down
our path toward home. How many times do we wander off the
path after some earthly distraction, spending so much
time and effort on things that we aren't meant to do at
all. God can look ahead to the great surprises He has in
store, and yet He waits patiently while we spin our
wheels on the roadside. We struggle over the rough
terrain of sin growing weary from the exertion, while God
is waiting for us to rest in Him and let His powerful
arms push us toward the goal. He has promised to sustain
us, but He lets us do the steering. He won't push us into
sinful areas that will harm us, He will wait until we
choose to come back to Him and start on the path again.
Our job is to stay focused, listening closely for God's
direction. When we discover we have wandered off the path
we must repent of our sins and come back to God to start
again. Better yet, when the distractions come, don't let
your eyes and mind linger on them long enough to run you
off the road. You will still have to pedal hard up the
hills and hold on tight as you speed down the inclines,
but what a peace and joy to know that God is right behind
you. And when you reach the end of the journey, you can
park your bike beside the gate and reach up to take His
strong hand in yours, because together, you have made it
home..
