Today I rode 16 miles on my bike. It was hot and the last three miles were all uphill. I was one mile from home, pedaling up hill with all my might, when I was passed by an old guy with a gray beard. I tried to catch him but could only watch as he disappeared around a corner.
As I rounded that corner I saw that he had slowed down and was waiting for me to catch up. When I reached him he greeted me warmly as he slowed to my pace.
“I won’t keep you long.” He said.
“I wanted to tell you to never stop doing what you are doing.
Today is the seventh anniversary of my stroke.”
“I have regained my speech but my left side is still mostly paralyzed,” He said.
“I ride every day because I want to live.
I don’t do it to stay alive, I do it to live.”
“Don’t stop doing this,” he said with a smile. “LIVE,” he shouted over his shoulder as he left me in the dust.
What a jolt of encouragement and wisdom.
We really live only when we challenge ourselves.
Daily…..How do you challenge yourself physically?
Daily…..How do you challenge yourself spiritually?
Daily……How do you challenge yourself mentally?
Daily……..How do you challenge yourself socially?
Men and women who continually reach for new challenges not only live…… they live longer?
My challenge for tomorrow is to recover from the fact that I was soundly beaten by a partially paralyzed man older than myself. My challenge for the next day is to find him, thank him for his advice and beat him up that hill!
Comments
wow – great words and if it makes you feel any better you’d probably smoke me on a bike and – all that blogging and tweeting about you guys doing a marathon – and my being uhm.. how shall we say it… presently ill-equipped, ;-D – I’ve started running with my teenage boys this week. They need to stay in shape for soccer – I just want to make it around the park. It’s a big park I swear. Okay it’s three miles, but it’s a start. So… thanks.
Correction, I meant to say triathlon.. worse than a marathon by a long shot. ;-D
Funny you should mention this now. I vowed to spend my summer making some changes…the very same changes of which you speak. And lemme tell ya, I have met with much resistance from folks around me who have no interest in Kingdom Living. As in turns out, I have a knack for pruning! (:^D)
Just went back to the gym yesterday for the first time in a long while. Felt good to be trying to get an edge on my increasing weight gain. Inspiration all around me,little “gray heads” who could kick my butt and not break a sweat doing so.Also helps to have my best friend and gift from God helping me on my journey to health and my journey to Heaven on the next treadmill over.
I did 102 miles in one day in 2002. 13 hrs & 20 min. 3-wheel recumbant, 147 gear combinations. Not bad for a 40+ year old guy with cerebral palsy who had to learn the hard way not to pee into the wind.
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