A Good Ride

Saturday morning was always my favorite time to go for a bike ride. I would be up, dressed, and out the door before the first rays of sunshine began to peek over the horizon. There was just something about feeling the cool morning breeze on my face and pushing the pedals as the sun rose. Those mornings contain some of my favorite memories. I can remember where I was the first time I rode over thirty miles. The same for when I broke through the fifty-mile-ride limit. The first forty-five miles of that ride were a lot of fun. There was just something about pushing my body a little bit further than I thought it would go. On those mornings, as I rode home, I knew I had had a good ride.

In many ways, this journey to beat lung cancer has been much the same. There were times that I just had to push my body a little bit further than I thought it could go. And the times that I thought I could not make it any further, friends and family would lift us up. Sometime they would come in person, and sometimes it was in their prayers. I have lost count of the times that DeLayne, the boys, and, I have been blessed by the giving of others. Perhaps, the most surprising thing has been the many times we have been blessed by opportunities to give to others. It has been a long journey that would not have been possible without the grace of others and the grace of God.

Yes, this journey has been a long one. There were twist and turns, never knowing what lay beyond the next bend in the road but learning to trust that Jesus would be there waiting on us. It has taken us places we never thought we would have to go, both physically and spiritually. Now my earthly journey has come to an end; I now know what lay beyond the last bend in the road. I am finally home resting in the loving arms of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I have had a good ride.