SATURDAY - JULY 5, 2008

SATURDAY – July 5 – Day 6 – 57 to go
O Lord, open my lips. And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Opening Prayer:
O Light, sine on our senses and dispel the sleep of our soul. To you before all else may our voice resound, and let us pay our vows to you. Amen.

Psalm 30

Collect:Mighty Lord of heaven and earth, whose Son is the head of the church, shape and renew your people until we bear the image of Christ and his true likeness to the world. We ask this through the same Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen. Lord, hear my prayer – And let my cry come unto you. Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.

May the souls of the faithful by the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.
May divine help always be with us. And with those who are absent from us. Amen.

VESPERS –
O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me.

Opening Prayer:O God, Creator of all things and Ruler of heaven, we give thanks for the day that is finished, and we pray at the start of the night. May faith not know darkness; may the night shine with faith. Amen.

Psalm 116:1,2,8-16

SATURDAY NIGHT SEA TO SEA DEVOTION

QUESTIONS THAT MAKE YOU THINK

TODAY’S REFLECTIONS
Today my gears stripped. Not my biking gears. I could say my emotional gears –(duh, nothing new) but it was more my soul gears. I woke up feeling ok and ready to do today’s ride as it was another fairly short, level one (although short & level are both relative terms depending upon one's physical strength & endurance). However as I started the ride down the bike path from Sunnyside to Kennewick it hit me full force. For 15 + miles I became fully aware of how I missed the opportunity to be Christ to someone on this trip. With 24 hours between then & now, that sense has not left me although the feelings that I experienced with that awareness has somewhat subsided. It was so acute and all I could do was ask God for forgiveness for letting the chance slip by. It was on Tuesday when I saw a man walking up the hideous hill we had to climb on our bikes as a part of our journey. I am riding because I chose to – I don’t know if he was walking because he wanted to and perhaps (as a friend suggested, I am projecting) but I know in my heart I was meant to give it to him. And I also know that my bike would have been replaced in some way. It didn’t need to be the internal conflict that it became. And whatever happened after that – as far as him having the bike, was not for me to worry about. The sense of missing that moment was overwhelming for me and as a result – although the ride was fairly easy (again – relatively speaking for some of us), it didn’t take too long to become EXHAUSTED. At about 33 miles I got to one of the support vehicles and sat with a bunch of other bikers and Walter who is one of our many wonderful support people. A resident gifted us with some local cherries and we all enjoyed that treat. Another support person, Joy, rode up and took a break as well. It was then I realized I would not be going any farther. It was in this that I truly realized that this effort is mainly mental. I could not get myself to get on the bike and finish. Joy and I took off and Corey (another key support person) put my bike on his vehicle and got it back to camp. Along the way we encountered a small group, one of whom was dealing with flat after flat after flat. By the end of the day – this guy had 6 or 7 to deal with before he got to our site. Again – talk about persistence. After about the 3rd flat, I’d want to throw the bike somewhere. But you don’t – you just fix it and keep on going. Which, not to be overly philosophical is another great metaphor – or is it symbol, for life. Things break- - our bodies, spirits, minds, whatever but you fix it and go on. Sometimes we don’t fix what was broken and then life gets even harder. Ultimately – as I learn again and again – it’s our choice. Whether someone else imposes the wound – or we do ourselves, we are the ones who have to fix the flat, the gears, the brakes. For those of us who profess faith in Christ however, or in a power higher than ourselves, whom some of us call God, the fixing isn’t done alone. Just like when a biker has a breakdown on the rode – there is always – ALWAYS – someone who is right behind or beside to help fix it. And if a rider is alone when something breaks – s/he can sit and wait and other riders will show up shortly.
If not the SAG vehicle will show up eventually with needed gear, water and encouragement.

SAG vehicles are driven by volunteers who check the route for anyone in distress and whether it’s a drink or a new inner tube, they are there to provide it. The other element of these kinds of rides which keep the bikers going is the SWEEP team. The SWEEP team (I may have already described this) is made up of riders who pack the gear truck as the rest of the bikers head off to the new site and then follow making sure that no one is left behind. These support people as well as our fellow bikers are the presence of God in all circumstances. A biker can be riding alone but know that s/he is not alone. I was physically pushed up a pretty steep incline by aforementioned friend – the man who became my trainer. I can’t imagine he knew that this would be the case when he signed on but that is part of the adventure – the unexpected ocurrence. But Larry has really gone out of his way to make sure I learn the ropes about shifting gears (very important to know when and what gear to shift into), pedaling fast or more slowly, riding in a pace line and whatever it takes to ride effectively and efficiently. Larry rode beside me with his hand on my back and got me up a hill I probably would have walked up if I was on my own. In this way my stamina and endurance is increasing – miracle of miracles and I might actually be a biker when I get home. In the same way – John (one of our knowledgeable mechanics) has helped me and others to be sure the gears are greased and the brakes are functioning. As a matter of fact –pretty much everyone helps everyone as we clean and grease and do tune-ups so that our machines are functioning at maximum capacity. Some of the riders are almost obsessive about it – but it really is a function of good stewardship. If the bikes don’t work at maximum efficiency then the ride will be harder. This is the case w/my bike. (Apologies if I am repeating myself here – I am still kind of foggy and tired but want to take this time to catch up). My bike is about a 40 lb hybrid. As our tour logistics person Ed said – it’s a good commuter bike) but not really the right tool for this job. Before the tour – when we bikers were in conversation about the ride, I asked if the ride would be doable with this particular bike. The answers came back that it wouldn’t be easy but it was possible. And that’s the truth. It’s doable – but it’s not the best tool for the job – so it makes it more of a challenge. But the challenge is still worthwhile. The fact is – I will only be “suffering” for 9 weeks. But the people we ride for are challenged in a variety of ways every day of their life and can’t really escape them. Well, maybe they can but at what cost? Another thing which hits home is the truth about how little a human being can live with. I think about all the STUFF I have at home and even the stuff I have w/me on this ride that I could do without – and it’s amazing. Certainly the circumstances in which we live call for different responses, but we in the wealthier nations could get ride of half of what we own and probably not notice. We are blessed – we are fortunate and we need to work harder to be sure that the material goods of the world are more evenly distributed. Yes, I am preaching but aside from the fact that it’s kind of what I do – it’s a point which has been emphasized over and over as we ride. It’s not about us. I do realize that but I also hope we are careful not to separate ourselves from those whom we are serving. Just like we bikers have become a community of unity – we really shouldn’t be separating ourselves from those whom we serve. That is something I find discomforting. Whether it is our geographic location, our ethnicity or our socio-economic situations – we can’t be “we” and someone else “they” or “them”. It’s a tricky thing to navigate but I don’t want to ride “for” them – I want to ride “with” them. Just as E.J. said indicated that those who support me are “with” me – I want to be “with” her as she takes her journey and others take their journeys.

Anyway - I think this is enough for now. We will be have dinner and then several of us will be going to stay with local families from the local Kennewick CRC (can't remember their name).
This is an opportunity I really will appreciate - a bed, a shower, should be fun.
Peace & blessings -