The Journey Begins

Sunday night Diana and I finished our preparations at home and loaded the car to drive to Lynden, Washington, about five miles south of the Canadian border. We spent the night in a windmill at the Dutch Village Inn. Early this morning we set out on our journey. The border crossing was still closed at 7 AM so we had to settle for pictures of Canada.
Before departing we prayed Psalm 91 for our niece Tammy Peters who is on a mission trip in Swaziland, Africa, for Tom Peters our brother-in-law (her dad) who had emergency lung surgery, and for my safety. Thank God he answered our prayer because Diana saw a bike accident just a few miles ahead of me. Not everything went as planned, however. About an hour into the ride it started raining hard and continued for the rest of the ride. With a strong south headwind and heavy rain, it was slow going. I also gave Diana a wrong turn in her directions (yes, she graciously forgave me) and it took us a while to get back together. As a result I had to stop riding just past Deception Pass on Whidbey Island and have Diana meet me. We drove the rest of the way in orde to make it to the Keystone-Port Townsend Ferry for our 3:00 ferry resrvation. As a result I only rode 60 of the 80 miles I planned to ride today.

As I reflected on this trying first day, I thought about all the prayers I had said for months asking God for favorable weather. Instead, He gave me March in June. The weather reminded me that although God hears and answers our prayers, he does not always do so as we would like. Instead he orders our lives according to his perfect plan. Isaiah 50:7 says: "Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame." The weather forecast for tomorrow is for rain again, so I will get on my bike and "set my face like flint" for Mexico and trust God to give me strength to persevere. Here's a screen shot of today's ride:Yes, it's small in the blog, but click on the image and you can see it full size. The ride today included 2745 feet vertical gain, and in spite of the rain and wind I averaged 15 miles per hour.

Tomorrow we travel south on State Highway 20 to US 101 for a total of 75 miles to Shelton. It's a simpler route than today's so we shouldn't get lost, and we aren't dependent on a ferry, so I should be able to ride the whole distance, our Sovereign Lord willing! When things don't go as planned, remember that God's plans for us are always perfect, even when they don't match our plans. I plan, by God's grace, to persevere tomorrow even if God plans for rain. I think that's one of the things he is sovereignly trying to teach me. Please keep us in your prayers!