Life is like that, the Lord whispered again. Sometimes it’s the people we encounter who can trip us up along the way.

I thought of the admonishments I’d given to my children when they were teenagers. “Who you hang around with will either hold you up or bring you down. Be careful who you walk next to.”

The good Lord knows the same is true for this grandmother as it is for any young person.

There Will Always Be Poop Along the Way

Our neighborhood policy is that if you “walk your dog” you “clean up behind your dog.” All along the way folks amble behind their four-legged furry friends. They have a leash in one hand and a plastic bag in the other.

But, sadly, not everyone pooper-scoops. Some people prefer to leave it behind for unsuspecting bike riders like me to ride over. Yuck.

No matter how well you plan it out…that tiny whisper again…part of living is running into some poop every now and then.

We watch out for it as best we can but sometimes, well, it’s just too late. And then we have a mess to clean up. Fortunately, there’s water from the hose at home to spray down the tires or wash off the shoes.

There’s also the Living Water who manages to wash the messes we step into or ride over in our spiritual walk (or ride) as well. We can’t always avoid the poop but we can always run to the Water.

Keep Your Wheels Pointed Toward Home

As I turned the final corner that morning I realized that from the moment I’d left the house, the wheels of my bike had been—in effect—pointed toward home. Always remember where your spiritual home is…and run to the Father in prayer. No matter what, keep that focus. I am here. I am at Home. And I am waiting to chat with you.

Yes, Lord!

I arrived back and the house ready to delve into the Scriptures, excited at what God had told me during our bike ride together. I jotted down a few notes, then showered, changed, and headed back to into my office. Not a minute later my husband came in, looking quite pale.

And frightened.

Within the span of a few words and minutes, I was calling 9-1-1. The next few days were filled with doctors and nurses, personal care technicians, cardiologists and their array of tests, phone calls to family and friends, prayer unlike anything I’ve ever felt before and—finally—heart surgery.

The very points God had given to me on my bike ride were now those lessons pushing me forward and helping me to keep my balance and momentum. With every step I took—one foot in the past and the other in the present (as my friend Robert Benson has so beautifully pointed out in his book A Good Life), I…we…headed toward an uncertain future. But God was there…all the way.

Riding On

Just last night I took another bike ride, this time with my husband on a bike behind me. “We are fam-i-ly,” we sang, but only a line or two. Then we peddled silently—for the most part—each of us with our ears open to what God had to say to us on that particular ride.

And tomorrow, we will listen again.

Eva Marie Everson’s book Reflections of God’s Holy Land: A Personal Journey Through Israel will soon be released by Thomas Nelson. It is, she says, the “book of my heart.” For more information go to: www.evamarieeverson.com