The first item on today’s to-do list was a 60-65 mile ride. I was mentally and physically ready, to go. The bike, alas, was not. TWO flat tires. GRRRRR.
I’ve made some changes. After talking with the guy who owns the bike shop I’m not going to use thorn-resistant tubes anymore. I don’t know much at all about physics, but he tells me rolling weight is the worst (i.e., the weight of the wheels & tubes), and the increased thickness of thorn resistant tubes seriously decreases pedaling efficiency. So I’m switching to regular tubes with a liner between the tube and the tire. I also bought a new pump. My old one was cheap, and was very difficult to get off the stem. Thorn resistant tubes all have very long stems, and my repeated wrestling to get the pump head off the stem caused the rubber to fatigue and fail.
I can’t continue to have FAIL rides with the Tour de Tucson sneaking up on me.
Decades ago I took a golf lesson. One of the things the pro told me was to never watch another person’s golf swing. The brain absorbs what it sees and the outcome of watching someone else as they hit the ball could be adopting their bad habits.
Try this at home: watch some of this weekend’s golf tournament, paying attention to the golfer who is waiting to hit his ball. It’s particularly obvious at the tee. You’ll notice that the golfer(s) not hitting always look down the fairway, never at their playing partner taking a swing. That’s why.
Sermon illustration!
My focus should be on MY walk with God, not anyone else’s. What they do or don’t do has no connection to my relationship with him, particularly because we’re likely at very different places in our spiritual journey.
I decided if I wasn’t going to get totally disgusted with a 4-hour ride that couldn’t happen I’d better make very good use of that time in other ways. So, the sermon is written (still needs plenty of chewing time). The bulletin is done, as are several small projects associated with the redecorating. Our 8’x5’ front window faces NW and gets a lot of hot afternoon sun, so I put the “smoke” version of the sun-blocking film on to help with the AC bill.
Do you look back and see things God saved you from...things that looked pretty good at the time but didn’t happen for some reason? And now you wipe your mental brow the back of your hand with one of those “Whew!” swipes and think, “If it weren’t for God’s grace I could have gone down that road and been miserable for the journey.”
Many years ago I interviewed for a job that would have been challenging, and meant significant income & status. I think the job would have been offered to me, but toward the end of the process I took myself out of consideration for personal reasons totally unrelated to the job itself.
Yesterday I had another encounter with that organization that reminded me how good God was in keeping me far, far away. I didn’t adequately understand the culture of that organization at the time. But again yesterday I was reminded just how anal and restrictive it is.
I know; some people consider me fairly anal, but I’m really pretty relaxed in most areas. Go with the flow, let’s see what happens. Leaders should lead, but they don’t need to fret every small detail or anticipate and address every possible development. Try to and you stifle creative thinking and increase organizational inertia to the point of paralysis.
Anyway, tonight I’m thankful for where I’ve been and where I am. God has, sometimes with great stealth, directed my paths for my good. What didn’t happen may be the best evidence of his gracious provision.
I guess that means I shouldn’t stew too much over this morning’s failed ride.
4 comments:
A proctologist's office is less anal than you
One can't say you were wrong for withdrawing from that job possiblity for personal reasons. However, it is also true that one can't deny that the organization MIGHT have been better off had you been in that position because you could have led the change needed and they (and you) could be better off than where either are at this time. "What If" is always postulation.
I'll argue that the organization and I are BOTH better off for me having withdrawn. I take that position based on a) God's sovereignty and b) his goodness. That is, if it were the better for either of us he would have caused it to be. Had the decision involved some moral, i.e. right or wrong component it would be different. But in this case I apply Rom. 8:28 to the situation and say, T'ank you, Fadder.
The organization "...is anal and restrictive" yet is better off because you (apparently neither of those) withdrew from consideration. Interesting viewpoint. Maybe "a & r" seems more judgemental than you intended. Maybe their worship structure or governance is differen than your preference.
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