Unexpected cold

today I went bike riding with my friend Kim. We both knew it was a cold day but had no idea how bad it was going to be. Today was a sunny day and though it was in the 20's F. the sun was out and when layered up it isn't a terrible thing. So, we met at my parking lot and as we were getting our bikes ready for the ride we started doubting the wisdom of the choice we'd just made. 5 minutes into the ride we were well beyond doubt in our assessment of how bad of an idea this was. The major problem was the wind. It was bitterly cold and a wall against which we were trying to ride. Each cycle of the pedals was worst that the previous one and we had just gotten started! However, there were two of us and neither was willing to be the one to quit, so we pressed on. We then arrived on the trail and started riding with the wind on our backs. It was still bitterly cold but we no longer had to fight for ever inch, so we pressed on.
When the cold got to be too much we decided to turn around. The choice alone lifted my spirits and I began looking foward to the return trip, the end was near. So, we turned around to begin our way back and two things happened immediately. The first was the wind was now hitting our faces and pushing back hard. The second was that I could see how our way back was going to be up hill for most of the ride! So, there we were, two miles left, suddenly facing two stubborn, strong, challenges that were making everything about the journey difficult. The worst part about it was that the only way to get through it was to fight on! I tried thinking about a hot cup of coffee or my warm house, a hot shower, etc...but none of that worked! In the end, what worked the best was simply pedaling one more full cycle at a time.

My life at church often times feels very much like this ride today. I've always known ministry is a difficult thing to do, but I never really knew just what that was going to feel like. Today, a lesson that I have been learning was illustrated very well for me. I've encountered very difficult problems in ministry so far, (my one year!) my initial method of dealing with them was to try to focus on the outcome to help me through. Today I realized, more fully than ever before, how I've been right and so very wrong at the same time. I was right in doing the work of seeing the end result, the vision, that I was working on. I was wrong in trying to make that the focus of my every step. The vision is where I am going, but what makes it come to be is my giving each pedaling cycle my full attention. I need to keep them both present but the only real one is the pedaling I'm doing at the moment. If I keep on pedaling, each of these small tough fights will eventually add up to bringing my vision to reality. So I will simply press on.