By the grace of God we made it!
With the wind at our backs and the sun on our faces we rolled into our final stop in Malibu. As we rested we found no cheering crowd. There were no colorful balloons or fancy banners acknowledging the amazing accomplishment of our Cycle 2 Serve riders. There was no champagne or Martinelli’s bubbling over. We simply stopped in a Von’s parking lot congratulated each other and humbly waited for Colin and Kayla to drive up in our support van to take us home. To say that the finish of our bike tour was anti-climatic would not be an exaggeration.
After loading the bikes in the trailer we gathered around and read our devotional text from the Apostle Paul. “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
After reading Paul’s words we realized that this bike tour was not about our efforts. This was about God’s love. The 450 miles of bonding and praying as a team would mean nothing if we were not able to love as God has intended us to love. It is true that we climbed over long steep grades, pulled each other in endless head winds, worked together on busy roads with no shoulders, and encouraged each other when we were exhausted, but all of this would be in vain if we were not able to love.
To ride from San Francisco to Malibu is quite an accomplishment. Riding approximately 60-70 miles a day is a doable challenge. But the real challenge is to not have a rest day for seven days straight. Day in and day out the team was tested to work together, be patient, and stay focused. Most of all, through our devotional time, we were reminded that our ride was for a cause that was greater than us. We were riding for the “other”. We were riding for our “neighbor”.
In our spiritual lives the real challenge is to stay attentive…day in and day out. Christ calls us to grow lasting roots that run deep and dwell in the rich soil of God’s love and mercy. To cultivate such growth we need to push the boundaries of our comfort zones and explore the possibilities that await us. As we dare to step outside of our little protected worlds we will find ourselves depending on the One who will never forsake us. And through the Sprit of God we slowly become more attentive and aware of the growing love of Christ in our daily lives. It is this love that calls us to go out and love our neighbor.
What an honor it was to cycle through the coastal farms of Watsonville, the gorgeous shoreline of Monterey, the stunning cliffs of Big Sur, the open fields of San Simeon, and the beautiful beaches along PCH. We worked and laughed together as we climbed through Big Sur, St. Lucia, Harris Grade and Lompoc. To be able to experience all of this with Colin Webb, Kayla Kellogg, Chris Arechiga, Ross Johnson, Linnea Hardlund and Lydia Yamaguchi was a blessed experience.
I believe the finish of the Cycle 2 Serve Bike Tour can feel anti-climatic because it is not the end of this ride. The seeds and lessons that God has planted have a greater purpose that reach beyond a seven day cycling tour. God is calling all of us to a bigger reality that waits for us outside of our comfort zones. May we, as the body of Christ, dare to follow the leading of God’s Spirit.
Lover Never Ends…
The Cycle 2 Serve Team
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