Last Tuesday, Jessica and I set out on about a 25 mile bike ride from Chicago Ridge, Illinois to Yorktown Mall in Lombard. MapQuest had the trip marked out at (from what I remember) about 21 miles, but we backtracked a little and I estimate we probably added another four miles at least.
We're a couple of hardcore trekkies, and not the Star Trek kind, but the bike trek kind. We trekked through side street Cook and DuPage suburbia where we passed forest preserve, lakes and ponds, possible million dollar homes, busy intersections and highway. We only stopped briefly in Willow Springs at a brick laid shelter at the corner of Archer and 95th I believe and did manage to run through a sprinkler later on. Other than that, we power housed up hills for miles on end and flew down stretches of sidewalk.
About halfway through the trip, the blue sky started to turn grey. Although it wasn't supposed to rain that night, I began to feel suspicious. Knowing there was no turning back now, I began to pray. I asked God to hold off the rain because we had a long way to go and in return for God's grace, I told God I would write a blog about God's grace. I continuously prayed throughout the journey; however, the sky gradually became darker and the winds picked up. Yet, despite all this, there was no rain. We were getting close to our destination at Sweet Tomatoes in Lombard.
I felt that God would show grace and I believed he would hold the rain off. Still, we had been biking so long and the destination seemed so far away. The last stretch to Lombard included biking over a highway and by this time, the winds rattled, the temperature dropped and rain drops began to fall, but they didn't fall so hard as to get too wet. There was a steep hill I had to peddle up and I was determined to pedal harder than I ever have to get to our destination. Not long after getting over this hill, I spotted Sweet Tomatoes and it was no coincidence that the rain started to pour just as we opened the door to the restaurant. When we finished eating, the rain stopped and I believe God made Jessica's friend Karen available that night to pick us up. I told God I would write this blog the next day, and I do ask for His forgiveness because I am just now getting around to writing it. God always lives up to His promises, but it's harder for us to live up to ours. Being Christian is much harder than biking 25 miles, but it's like biking in that sometimes when you think it's smooth sailing, God throws a storm in your path and says, "How are you going to react?"
Thank you God for your Grace,
Kevin
We're a couple of hardcore trekkies, and not the Star Trek kind, but the bike trek kind. We trekked through side street Cook and DuPage suburbia where we passed forest preserve, lakes and ponds, possible million dollar homes, busy intersections and highway. We only stopped briefly in Willow Springs at a brick laid shelter at the corner of Archer and 95th I believe and did manage to run through a sprinkler later on. Other than that, we power housed up hills for miles on end and flew down stretches of sidewalk.
About halfway through the trip, the blue sky started to turn grey. Although it wasn't supposed to rain that night, I began to feel suspicious. Knowing there was no turning back now, I began to pray. I asked God to hold off the rain because we had a long way to go and in return for God's grace, I told God I would write a blog about God's grace. I continuously prayed throughout the journey; however, the sky gradually became darker and the winds picked up. Yet, despite all this, there was no rain. We were getting close to our destination at Sweet Tomatoes in Lombard.
I felt that God would show grace and I believed he would hold the rain off. Still, we had been biking so long and the destination seemed so far away. The last stretch to Lombard included biking over a highway and by this time, the winds rattled, the temperature dropped and rain drops began to fall, but they didn't fall so hard as to get too wet. There was a steep hill I had to peddle up and I was determined to pedal harder than I ever have to get to our destination. Not long after getting over this hill, I spotted Sweet Tomatoes and it was no coincidence that the rain started to pour just as we opened the door to the restaurant. When we finished eating, the rain stopped and I believe God made Jessica's friend Karen available that night to pick us up. I told God I would write this blog the next day, and I do ask for His forgiveness because I am just now getting around to writing it. God always lives up to His promises, but it's harder for us to live up to ours. Being Christian is much harder than biking 25 miles, but it's like biking in that sometimes when you think it's smooth sailing, God throws a storm in your path and says, "How are you going to react?"
Thank you God for your Grace,
Kevin
