Observations from today's ride

I went for a ride this morning of about 25 miles and really feel my strength returning as I topped my previous average speed by .6 mph and got faster as the ride went on. As I've shared before, I love the bike because it is a place for me to escape and find some space to think, pray and hear what God has to teach me.

Today, I was riding past a grove of trees and remembered an early season ride past there last year. At this time of year, you can sometimes spot deer through the leafless trees a little way into the grove and on that particular ride I happened to startle one that was very near the road and got a good, upclose look. As I rode past today, I thought about how great it would be to see a deer this morning. I quickly thought of how early in my faith, I would think something like that almost to test God, sort of a "if you really love me, you'll let me see a deer" kind of thing. Childish, I know, but there were many times that it happened and I thanked God for that visible reminder of His love for me. There are times now when I see a deer on a ride and I'm reawakened to the childlike faith that was stirred up in me at times like that.

Today's experience was a bit different. I had the initial thought and immediately brushed it off as somewhat childish. About five miles later I was on the Sweetser Switch when something at a nearby farm caught my eye. There in a pen were two deer (ears tagged) only about 20 yards from the trail. I was somewhat surprised since I've ridden past there a lot in the last few years and had never seen them there. I'm still not sure how long they have been there or for what purpose, but I found myself conflicted. I love to see deer on rides, but did this somehow devalue the experience? They are the same as the animals I had hoped to see confined to a grove of trees, but by being in a pen they seemed less special.

I began to consider how God sometimes gives us what we have asked for, but in unexpected, unasked for ways. Sometimes He gives us the very thing we desired only so we can realize how poor a substitue it is for what we really need and long for. I really didn't need to see a deer to trust in His love for me. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was a far greater sign than anything that could be shown to me on a back road in Indiana.