I pedal my bicycle
up behind a runner and announce myself, “Passing on your left.”
I expect a wave
or a “Thanks” but instead no response.
Where we vacation,
the bike and running paths are the same. Safety requires bikers not pass unless
the walker or runner is aware of it, because one step to the left and
catastrophe.
In fact, once I
forgot to give notice, and a woman lectured me on my error, which I fully deserved.
I say it louder. “PASSING
ON YOUR LEFT.”
Still no
response.
I creep up beside
the runner. That’s when I notice the earbuds and nearly shout, “ON YOUR LEFT.”
She never turns
and only acknowledges me until I’m ahead of her.
That scenario
repeated itself day after day after day. Fully half of the walkers or runners I
approached were not aware of my bike until I had passed them.
I’ve biked these same
paths for years and never noticed this problem. I’m all for a good podcast, and
no one loves music more than me, but the island where we spend a few days every
now and then is so replete with beauty, I want to absorb every bit of it. Even
the sounds. Sometimes, especially the sounds—the call of the seagulls—the distant roar
of the ocean. I even wanted to hear the whirr of the bicycle
tires behind me or approaching footsteps.
This is not a
safety post, but even so, please be careful out there. It’s a call to be in the
now—to be aware of God’s gifts in the present time, and to unplug. The pandemic
has caused us all to deal with our stress in different ways, and escaping is
one of them. I get it, because I've had the same struggles, but being present in the moment is such a mighty thing.
In a recent Bible
class, a friend was trying to remember a verse that had been significant to
her. Because of the information she gave, I quoted Ephesians 3:20, “To him who
is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his
power that is at work within us . . .”
“No, that’s not
it,” she said.
But someone else read it from their Bible. “Now, to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us . . . “
“That is it,” she
said, “The word, 'now,' made such a difference for me.” That word was not just
a transition in language for her. She needed to know that God was at work in
the now.
We can’t leave
off “now’ like I did when I quoted the verse. There’s a whole lot we miss if we
have plugs in our ears.
So, here’s a
challenge. Let’s all take a day where we unplug and really listen to what God
is doing around us—the things we might miss if we’re not intentional about
listening.
And here are a few
other verses with the word “now’ for consideration:
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to
present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy . . .
(Jude 24).
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the lord
is, there is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17).
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the
greatest of these is love. (I Corinthians 13:13).
For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2
Now, have a blessed day.
