Should I Stay or Should I Go?

This is a question that many ask weighing the outcomes of each. What are the outcomes if I STAY: Safety, comfort, stability, security, status quo, boredom, control, expectations. When I think of a trip of this magnitude that I am about to embark on, I cannot help but think upon the COMFORT and SAFETY I will give up. But alas, as Christians, believers in Christ, we are not called to be safe. God himself is not safe, not tame, but He is good. I view adventure the same way. It will be a trek into an untamed wilderness and the safety zone behind me will linger there until I turn a corner into the unknown street. When Simon Peter walked on water as he so famously is known, I cannot help but focus on the other eleven disciples. Peter gets such a hard time for being the disciple who took his eyes off of Jesus, but guess what? He was the only man who stepped out of the comfort of the boat to follow his Lord. The others just sat there and thought he was crazy. Some will think I am crazy for cycling down the Pacific Coast and back up through the Sierra Nevadas during the hottest part of the year with a deadline lingering in front of me. But those folks are the guys and gals who will not even leave the boat. They won’t leave the house, the town, the state…and if they do, it will be by a motorized means. When I venture out my STABILITY will be altered, my SECURITY tampered with, the STATUS QUO out of whack. Becoming a vagabond as one wandering from village to city, BOREDOM will never take place. The CONTROL of my circumstances will be out of my hands. I cannot EXPECT what will happen to me or whom I will meet. Adventure awaits…

                                                                                                           

Should I stay or should I go?

What are the outcomes if I GO: Sacrifice, blessing, risk, hope, adventure, fear, change, faith. Next summer I will SACRIFICE my time that I could be spending with family and friends, watching movies, hanging out and enjoying life at home twiddling my thumbs. That is a sacrifice I am willing to make. If I do not sacrifice and take the plunge, I will be missing out on the BLESSINGS of a God who has called us to sacrifice our very selves. My friends, it is a blessing to go. It is most definitely a RISK to step out of the boat, but oh the joys that will befall you are boundless. Risky business is always wary when you don’t know what will happen next, but that is the joy…the joy of not knowing. Whom do you put your trust in? If it is someone or something other than God Almighty, then you do have something to worry about, but if He is for you, who can be against you? Step out and have a blast. When you do step out, you will be filled with HOPE, hope that you will return, hope that around the next corner will be an ice cream shop and hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. As I have mentioned and will continue to mention, there will be no lack of ADVENTURE outside of the boat. Yes, challenges will happen, but where do we grow? Where are we stretched the most? Inside or outside of the boat? I’ll let you answer that one yourself. FEAR is one that gets me and I’m sure it gets you as well. There will be many dangers along this odyssey and it will not be without fear. But fear is actually good to have. Without fear, adventure will lose its meaning. But with the CHANGING tides, new experiences and opportunities will present themselves and who knows what will happen on the road to exploration. If I set my eyes on the One who has gotten me thus far and is taking me even farther, what do I have to worry? I put my FAITH in Him and His doings and not my own. That is the key I suppose. I long for this trip, but as the weeks turn into months and as the new year is right around the corner I think of all I need to do to get ready for Perfect Circles 2014…will this trip actually happen? Am I ready? It must happen, I’ve told so many people about it. I can’t let them down now…nor ever. I feel like Gollum at times with a contradicting conversation piercing my thoughts. Safety or Sacrifice? Comfort or Risk? Security or Hope? Boredom or Adventure? Control or Change? Expectations or Faith? Stay or Go?

Should I stay or should I go?

A Good Salemite Story

Last weekend as I was riding past Riverfront Park here in downtown Salem, I witnessed a horrific sight. I glimpsed an old cyclist crossing a railroad track as he was leaving the park. As it happens, he did not make it past the tracks. As I looked over I saw him and his bike do a nose dive into the pavement in front of him. At first I did not know what was happening. For a split second, my mind did a flip-flop and a double take. Did that really happen? It looked like slow motion. Regardless, I didn’t think twice as I pedaled on over to him forgetting my agenda. I laid my bike down and knelt down close to this man. He was in bad shape. His face was smashed against the cement with a puddle of blood to show for it. He wasn’t moving except for some shaking and groaning. I quick whipped out my cell phone and dialed 9-1-1. There really wasn’t anyone else around save for the passing cars that took no notice. As I was waiting for the dispatcher to pick up, a gentleman was walking towards me to see what the problem was. I called over to him and asked if he had a phone because mine for whatever reason was not getting through to Emergency. Of all the times for my phone to malfunction, this had to be it. The other man called and got through to the paramedics just as a man and his wife came running from their car parked in the park. I helped get the bike off of him. They asked the man his name and started to administer first aid that they got from their car. Luckily he was conscious and was able to sit up. The ambulance and fire came and took it the rest of the way. They took him away on a stretcher and also were kind enough to bring along his bike. Not a minute after they drove away a downpour of rain and hail started to happen.

I don’t know if this man was homeless, but he did have some homeless friends near the scene that were afraid and asking about him. The good news is I am sure the man will be okay. It did not look too serious, but one can never tell for sure. I was sure thankful that I was there when I was. Things happen for a purpose. At the exact moment of the accident, I was riding by. The cool thing was that the previous evening I was in a Bible study discussing the Parable of the Good Samaritan founding Luke chapter 10. I had the opportunity to practice what I studied. God is good, no? Every day there are blessings and opportunities if we know where to look…and sometimes, they come looking for us.

Will you join me in keeping your eyes pealed for opportunities to be a blessing in your community and beyond just as the Good Samaritan man had compassion on the Jewish man? Help is in short supply; let’s resupply the world.