So you know those days where nothing seems to be going your way? Days where the vacation you planned gets cut in half and the job you thought would last you a few more months is ending in two weeks? Today was one of those days for me. Is there anything you do on days like this where it just seems impossible to be happy and remain positive? For me I try to clear my head. I do that lots of different ways and today I went on a bike ride. You see, I'm preparing to serve a mission and one of the suggestions my bishop gave me was to ride my bike more. So, today after relaxing a bit after work I decided to ride to the temple. It's about a 5 mile ride from my house and uphill most of the way. I started out and noticed it was getting stormy. There was a breeze and I was excited it wouldn't be so hot. I took my brother's bike today and after I got started I realized the gears don't work. [for those of you not familiar with bike riding, switching gears, especially when you are going to be going uphill is important for a smoother ride] After realizing this ride would be a bit harder than a normal one I had a decision to make. I could keep going with my original goal of getting to the temple, or I could shorten the ride and go home. Normally I would have just gone home after a shorter ride, but this ride was different. It was different because I had a goal in mind.
Halfway through the ride an analogy of life came to my mind. It was something that kept me going and helped me put things in perspective. I began to liken my bike ride to life. In life our goal is getting to the temple. We live worthy so that we can be blessed by blessings that happen there. The goal for my bike ride was the temple. As I began the ride I was so excited. It was one of the longest rides I've done and it had been awhile since I had ridden. It felt good to push the pedals and move closer to the goal. I got to the park by my house and began the first hill of the journey. This is where I realized the gears on my bike were broken. With each push of the pedal I could feel the resistance of the bike. Since I was just starting out it wasn't too hard just yet. I got to the top of the hill and made the turn onto a busy street. I kept going down this street and was concerned with the upcoming intersection. I didn't want to wait for the crosswalk so I began to cross. As I was about to go into the street a car rushed past me. I decided that going to the crosswalk was probably a better idea. This reminded me of the times in life where your plans don't match up with the Savior's. I wanted to cross not in the crosswalk, but there was an unseen danger. Sometimes the lord sees what we don't and we need to follow his plans instead of ours!
I continued on my journey. I won't say it was the easiest. In fact, I walked my bike a few times because of the extreme wind and steep hills, but as I rounded that last corner and I watched the sunset from next to the temple I felt so great. I was amazed by how it felt for me to reach my goal. I was so happy to be there that I didn't want to leave. That's what being at the temple brings. It brings so much happiness and joy. That's what reaching our goals bring. As I was riding home, I watched as lightening periodically hit all around the valley. It was beautiful. This ride really made me happy and I definitely enjoyed it.
There are so many times in life where it's just so hard for a positive attitude to remain in tact. It's hard for us to see our goal and really truly follow a path that will get us there but we need to focus on the things that really matter. We need to remember that we do have a goal and the path to getting there isn't necessarily ours, but when we trust that the path is right it will get us there. Riding my bike to the temple helped me to clear my head and realize what's really important. So, take away from this post? We don't always have control over the situation at hand. Sometimes we just have to make sure that we trust in our Savior and realize that it will be okay in the end. I hope everyone can find something that clears their head and makes them happy on a bad day. Remember that it will all be okay in the end, but most importantly, remember that no one likes a frowny face so change it to a smile, and I promise it will all get better.
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