Creeping

Summer is a great time for outdoor activities, and bicycling is one of my favorites. One summer, Dan and I bought a book that had preplanned routes all over our region. We made it our goal to ride every route before summer’s end – at least every route within our fitness range. 

Every Saturday morning, we rose early and tried to be on our bikes no later than 7:00 am. Those summer mornings felt surreal in their misty coolness.  One Saturday our route took us out McDonald (TN) way. In that part of the country, winding, hilly roads took us through pastureland where we would say hello to cows, goats, llamas, sheep, and chickens, along with a few turkeys. Chicken farms announced their presence first by dusty, musty, and sometimes pungent aroma. Wide-open grassy fields stretched out before us in the morning light. We would huff and puff up each hill, hoping a dog wouldn’t chase us in our struggle, and then glide like the wind down the other side. 

Caught up in the adventure, we often failed to notice the temperature creeping up and up. Anyone who lives in the South knows our summers carry oppressive, muggy heat, but the day doesn’t start like that. It starts off cool and pleasant, but then, in the tiniest of increments, the mercury rises. One day I was taken off guard by this fact. We had ridden all morning and were drenched in salty sweat. We only had a few more miles to go to get back to our car, but I “hit a wall.” Without warning, I stopped on the side of the road, laid my bike heavily in the grass, and  dropped to the ground. I could go no farther.

Has anything in your life overtaken you in small increments? Maybe having ice cream every night has put a few pounds on your hips? Maybe your credit card balance has risen to unmanageable proportions? Maybe too little sleep and too much stress is wrecking your health? Maybe skipping devotions “just today” has slipped into a month? Those little decisions add up over time.

Are you sitting on the ground drenched in sweat? Maybe something needs to change.

joyce hague