Heading uphill towards Home

This afternoon just proves to me that you can get inspiration from any source at any time and turn it into some sort of Testament if you know where to look and stop to think about it for just a minute. It doesn't always come in Church or in Prayer, but can often come from a simple event in day to day life if you can just see it.

I have recently started riding my bike again in an attempt to help keep my blood sugar under better control and get back into shape after not exercising for quite some time. I enjoy riding because I always feel so energized and happy after a good hour long ride. However, due to the fact that I am badly out of practice riding, it can be very tiring too. Especially on hills which are very plentiful here in VA.

Right outside of our neighborhood, if you turn left, there is a very very very long hill. It isn't exceptionally steep, but it is very long. Needless to say, in my current condition, getting to the top of that hill every day is a very big challenge. In my current state, I generally ride about half way up it then wind up pushing the bike the rest of the way to the top. Eventually my goal is to be able to pedal my bike all the way to the top but that is still a wee bit in the future.

As I reached the “Okay I walk from here” point today, I pondered how getting out of my neighborhood was really hard because of that hill, but at least getting back into it was easy because it was all down hill. Then it struck me that this was a great analogy for Faith and Devotion to God. How being on a true path to Salvation was like trying to ride your bike up a very steep hill and how taking the path away from God was like coasting downhill.

Think about it. Doing the right thing is never easy. My Father always said, “Bobby, if doing the right thing was easy, everybody would do it.” The Path to God is fraught with obstacles both of our own making and ones put in front of us from the outside. We stumble and we struggle every day to do the right thing and follow the right path so that we can be worthy of Heavenly Father's gifts and love. I struggle every day with blocks that range from the simple (I SO MISS COFFEE!) to the sublime (Is this the right path for me? Am I making the right choices?) Every step along this Trek is never easy and sometimes difficult.

On the other hand, giving up and returning to the old ways would be so easy. After all, I went without His love for decades. I avoided religion like the plague. I never worried about whether I was doing the right thing or following the right path. Why not just stop trying to peddle uphill and coast? Downhill is always easier and so many people seem to choose that path. Why keep struggling with my Faith and Fears when I can just go and coast?

I keep riding my bike even when it is tiring because I Know that it helps me. I know that all of the hard work will pay off in the long run with better health and a better attitude. Sure it is hard work sometimes, especially on that first massive hill, but if I keep going everything will be better.

My Faith is very much like that. Everyday I face obstacles that it would be very easy to avoid. I stand at the bottom of a steep hill and ponder if it is really worth it to climb that hill to get to my goal at the top. I am tempted to just relax and take the easy way. However, I know that God is waiting for me at the top of that massive hill. I know that the rewards I will receive once I get there are worth any efforts and pains I might undergo along the way. So I am going to keep climbing that hill even though I am so very tired because I know Home is waiting for me when I get there.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen