As I considered this trip with a bike and the Bible, I had some reservations.
The idea
“There’s the trail.”
It looked so calm and serene from the comfort of the car, viewed through the closed window. That glass shield which protected me from what was really on the distant path. Not for the faint of heart. Rocky ground. Shaky ground. Fears. Confrontation. I had no clue what was coming.
But that shield couldn’t protect me from the fears I would have to face. That barrier couldn’t hold back the barrage of feelings and emotions, labels, sense of inadequacy that would gush out once I was on that path on a bike.
But I didn’t know any of that. Yet.
The idea of the bike ride was just forming.
Bike ride
My husband knew about this bike ride which follows an old train route. On a trip through Idaho and Montana, he pointed out the path. This section of scenery was out in the open, in nature and inviting. All downhill he said. He wanted to rent bikes sometime and ride the trail. I envisioned a leisurely peaceful downhill coast where I could gaze at the trees and enjoy the outdoors all from the comfort of a bike, stopping along the way for a nice picnic lunch.
That sounded like a pleasant way to spend a day. I was open to the idea.
Gathered info
As we started to make plans for the trip I decided to do a little research. I gathered info about the excursion. The details described a ride that sounded less leisurely than what I had pictured, but the ride still sounded doable, if not peaceful.
I think by this point I was fine with the idea of the bike ride, but not too sure about the ride itself.
The Bible
This idea stage makes me think of the Bible, how it looks lovely on a table or open on an altar. The appearance of it the most engaging aspect of it. But where do our thoughts go when we consider the idea of reading it? Are we still interested at the prospect or do we have reservations about looking inside?
When I worked in a bookstore I saw many people come in looking for Bibles. I know more than one wasn’t so sure how to go about reading it. I could relate.
Reservations
As the date of the bike ride got closer we considered making reservations. Oh I was having reservations all right. Somewhere along the line I had heard reference to a tunnel. The information made it sound a bit ominous. How bad could a tunnel be? It sounded claustrophobic. Was it? Did I have something to be worried about? Something to feel anxious about?
No idea what I was doing
I had no idea what I was doing. It wasn’t my idea. My husband knew all about the ride. He wanted to take the trip. He had read about it and knew the history behind it. He liked trains. He was curious, excited, looking forward to it.
I was doing it because he wanted to. I didn’t know anything about it and what I did know I didn’t like. I hadn’t ridden a bike in ages. Well that wasn’t totally true. I had bought a bike when he had which was the first time I had ridden in years and all that came back was the familiar wobbles and bobbles of an awkward start. Of someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing. Of an amateur, a beginner.
Beginning with the Bible
I remember when I first tried to read the Bible. I didn’t understand what was in it, wasn’t always sure how to read it, and couldn’t remember what I read when I did open it. Can you relate?
I knew people who had read the Bible. You know, those people who get all excited about the Bible and preach, hey, you should read it, but then you open it and you’re like, nope, still boring. Then you close it.
Because I struggled to read it, I thought the Bible was just for serious, studious people. You know, the ones who can sit still for long periods of time. Academics. Students who aced high school, who turned in all their homework on time.
I figured the Bible was for scholarly people. Students good at reading literature books. The ones who had all the answers in English class.
That wasn’t me.
Question
What reservations did you have about reading the Bible or stepping onto an unknown path?
Catching up? Here’s the intro to this series: