HOLES HAPPEN

For the past three months I’ve dedicated myself to riding my bike about four times a week. I’ve enjoyed it more than I thought I would and the exercise has enabled me to get down to my lowest weight in probably ten years. No complaints there! Whether I’m out on a quick six-mile ride or a 26-mile cruise through the countryside, bike riding offers a lot of time to think. Early on in my riding adventures my thoughts were mostly focused on how badly my body hurt and whether I’d be able to get back home.  In case you’re wondering, I did always make it back home. In fact, thankfully I don’t remember any close calls.

Recently I developed a problem where my front tire was losing air over a period of several days. (Don’t you hate it when that happens?) The slow leak never left me stranded, so that’s good. Finally I decided I would install a new tube. Almost immediately the slow leak returned. Grrr! What are the odds of that? So I decided I needed to repair the two tubes. I checked the tubes for leaks and sure enough there was a small hole in each one. Upon closer inspection I discovered that the holes were in the same general location on each. My mother didn’t raise a dummy. Through my exceptional deductive reasoning ability (did I tell you I’m humble too!), I did a careful inspection of the tire. Sure enough I found a staple had penetrated the tire and was protruding over ¼ inch inside. This was the cause of the small holes. Once I identified the leak and the cause, it was a quick repair on each of the tubes. I checked the tire twelve hours later and the repair was 100% successful this time.

I don’t know how you are but I like to learn lessons from life. Several things came to mind from this recent experience:

1.    We will often put up with something as long as it doesn’t inconvenience us too much. As long as my bike tire stayed inflated so I could get my ride in, it was easier to ignore it than it was to fix it. The problem is that an underinflated tire does impact a bike’s ability to roll down the road. It has the effect of trying to ride through sand. The less air the deeper the sand. Whatever it is that you’re tolerating and, to this point, trying to ignore in your life, is having an effect on your ability to do life. It may be the very thing that’s holding you back from breaking through to a better life.

2.    We are sometimes so focused on fixing the EFFECT we fail to address the CAUSE. I’m pretty new at bike riding being a primary exercise routine so I’m learning a lot about how to ride and how to maintain my bike. It never occurred to me to check the tire. I immediately decided to install a new tube. Cause and effect is a universal law. Now I know that when I have a leak I need to check both the tube and the tire. Fixing an “effect” is similar to treating symptoms. The shelves at the pharmacy are stocked with medicines that treat symptoms. They’re designed to help diminish the symptoms and make you feel better, but they don’t provide a cure (or address the cause). True healing, and therefore, wholeness in our lives comes from identifying and eliminating a “cause.”

3.    It’s not the big things that threaten to delay or derail our life it’s often the small, less obvious things. I was surprised about how small [thin] the staple was that had imbedded itself in my tire for the past couple of weeks. The big things are often so obvious we know better the consequences of continuing with a particular activity or attitude. We know our disobedience is costing us something, and we basically don’t care. This is not a good scenario but equally concerning are the small, less obvious things that have imbedded themselves in our lives, and we’re mostly oblivious to the damaged being caused each day they remain undetected. 

Yesterday I was able to go for a nice 8-mile night ride. My bike, with my tire free of the staple and properly inflated, rolled down the road. It was one of my best rides yet. It may be time for you to do a thorough examination of your life to see if there are any “staples” (the small, less obvious things) that are slowing you down and keep you from experiencing the better life God has for you. A better life is possible!