Harder than a Century

For the past week my wife and I have been in San Antonio, Texas for the purpose of buying a home. I thought about bringing my bike with me in order to get my first taste of riding in the Texas Hill Country, but I decided I should leave it in Washington and stay focused on the task at hand. It's a good thing too, because I've found the whole process of buying a house a lot harder than riding a century.

First you have to choose a realtor, then you need to decide where you want to look, then what kind of house you're looking for, then you have to locate potential properties from the MLS listings, and then actually go out and look at the properties, because most of the time they don't look anything like they do in the listings. Once you've finally settled on a house, then you have to go through the financing process.

Financing is the worst part of all, because everything you've ever done with money is laid bare for the loan officer (and anyone else who works with him) to see. It reminded me of how I felt as I put on my riding gear after a long, cold wet winter when I didn't ride nearly enough and put on way too many pounds. I felt almost naked in my lycra spandex, with way too much being revealed, even though it was still covered. After three and a half hours in the mortgage office I felt like I did after riding the STP in one day. SPENT!

The amazing thing is that just as God has guided, guarded, strengthened and kept me through many long, hard rides, he has guided and strengthened us through this long process. We hope to close on our new home in a few weeks and be enjoying the new life God has in store for us in Texas. It's exciting. It reminds me of one of my favorite Bible passages, Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust the LORD with all your heart, and don’t depend on your own understanding. Remember the LORD in all you do, and he will give you success."

The Virtual Tour

Once again it is Tour de France time. July has become my favorite month of the year for this reason. It's an amazing race that it difficult beyond comprehension. Over 2000 miles and an unbelievable amount of climbing. The mountains are where the race is won or lost.

This year for the first time there is an online Virtual Tour. Each day of the Tour you ride your bike and record your ride using a GPS. Then you submit your ride to the website. A computer program analyzes your ride and your performance while riding and compares it to that day's course on the Tour. It tells you how long it would have taken for you to ride the same course as the peloton rode.

On Saturday Fabian Cancellara won the opening time trial, covering 15 kilometers or about 9 miles in 19 minutes and 32 seconds. On the second day, sprinter Mark Cavendish was the winner, riding 122 miles in four and one half hours. Well, I submitted my rides and got the results. They were stunning, in the worst possible way! It would have taken me 50 minutes to ride the time trial course in Monaco on Saturday. Today's ride would have taken me 10 hours and 12 minutes (that's considering that I would have been able to complete it at all). OUCH! These revelations were humbling to say the least. I can't believe how much fitness I've lost since my Canada to Mexico ride just a year ago. But even in my best shape at the end of that 1300 mile ride, the peloton would have left me in the dust.

Paul writes in Romans 12:3: "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you." This is even more true spiritually, than it is physically. I need to have a realistic view of myself as a cyclist, otherwise I will get into trouble trying to overextend myself as a rider. This could result in a "bonk" at the least (bonking is running out of "gas" during a ride) or a crash at the worst. If we do not have a realistic view of ourselves spiritually, the results could be much worse. I could overestimate myself and underestimate the Enemy and end up falling into serious sin and spiritual ruin. I could become self-righteous and judgmental as I make false comparisons between myself and other people.

Logging on to the Virtual Tour gave me a good reality check on my cycling abilities. Each of us needs to open God's Word and examine ourselves in the light of God's will so that we will not think more highly of ourselves than we ought.

The interesting thing about the Virtual Tour is that you can "win" no matter how slow you are, just by entering. In a similar way, God's grace makes us all winners regardless of how weak or strong we are, because we trust in Jesus and His saving grace. Grace does not apply to the real Tour de France, however. The one who rides the race in the shortest overall time wins. And right now, I'm not ready to pick a winner for 2009. They haven't hit the mountains. But we can all be winners if we put our faith in Jesus!

The ups and downs of cycling and life

Becoming a serious cyclist while living in the Pacific Northwest has taught me a lot of things. Climbing can be very hard, but it's good for you. It makes you strong. Since 2004 when I began to ride seriously I've lived at the top of a 500 foot climb. At the end of every ride I have to make that climb if I want to get home, no matter how many miles or hills I've already ridden. Parts of that climb are a 13% grade, and my heart rate will top 160 as I grind toward the top. On the other hand, the drop down to the valley from 500 feet is thrilling, sometimes topping 45 miles per hour. While the climbs are hard, the descents are dangerous, requiring total concentration and being constantly alert. You have to pay attention to the twists and turns ahead, the pavement in front of you, your bike, the wind, any potential obstacles... a lot can go wrong on a fast descent.

As I've been navigating the route to retirement, I'v experienced a lot of ups and downs as well. Some days I'm excited about reitirng, others leave me wondering what it will be like not to be pastoring on a daily basis. Some days I'm overwhelmed by all the work of moving. Trying to sell a house and buy another in this economy is another roller coaster ride. We've had to spend a significant chunk of our retirement nest egg just getting our house in shape to sell. One day the deal is on, the next day it's up in the air again. Patience and perseverance are just as essential as they are on a long, torturous climb. But, as in most climbs there are those short flat spots where you get to rest for a moment before the road turns up again.

Today was a reminder of why I'm on this road. Elijah graduated from preschool at our Savior this morning. It was a joyful, proud, emotional moment, with my wife, Diana and daughter, Rebekah by my side. My little "Cowboy" sang about his faith and received a blessing for his future. I'm so looking forward to being able to spend more time with my family, as well as with my Texas family, MaryBeth and William and grandson, Seth, once we get down there. Perhaps that's why I'm so impatient and want things to hurry along. Being all together as a family will be such a blessing.

Right now our retirment plans are on hold, while the sale of our house is being negotiated. It seems that our move is farther off than we originally expected, but God knows best and we're trusting (at least trying to) his perfect time and plan.

I've thought about Proverbs 3:5-6 a lot. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths." Trusting in the Lord with all your heart is sometimes hard. We want to be in control. We want to figure it all out according to our plan and our timetable. However, we need to remember that our Lord knows best and that his ways are better than our ways. Whether the road ahead is an agonizing climb or an exhilarating descent we know we can trust him to see us through.

Whenever I begin a ride I pray: "Lord, I commit this ride to you. I ask you to watch over me, wrap your loving arms around me, let your holy angels be with me that the wicked foe may have no power over me. Give me strength for the climbs, and skill for the descents and bring me safely home to my family." That's a pretty good prayer for navigating the road to retirment too.

It will probably be a couple of months before I'm riding the Texas Hill Country, but by that time Lance Armstrong may be home from another Tour de France. Maybe I'll cross paths with him some morning. It's one of many things I'm looking forward to in Texas.

Wow, how things change.

One year ago I was looking forward to the beginning of my pastoral sabbatical in May of 2008, and preparing for my ride from Canada to Mexico to benefit 4US.org. Now a year later I'm looking forward to retiring from the pastoral ministry and I haven't ridden my bike in a full month.

The past six months have been challenging to say the least. I've finally come to the realization that I'm too burned out to provide the full time pastoral leadership that is required by Our Savior Lutheran Church, Tacoma, WA and have decided to retire from the ministry and move with my family to Texas.

I'm looking forward to a new life with more time for my wife, Diana, and the rest of my family. It'll be great to have both girls (Rebekah and MaryBeth) my son-in-law William and both grandsons all in the same state! Here's me with my new grandson, Seth.

I'm sure God isn't finished with me in ministry yet, I just don't know what he has in store next. I'm excited to find out what it may be. I am also looking forward to riding the Texas Hill Country for the first time, and for many years to come. Maybe I'll even run into Lance Armstrong out there on the road someday.

God's ways are truly amazing. We never know what twists and turns he has planned for our road ahead. If someone would have told me five years ago that I would be retiring at age 60 and moving to San Antonio, Texas I would have said they are crazy. (Of couse, if someone would have told me last July that I'd be as fat and out of shape as I am now, I also would have thought they were nuts!) But one of the things I enjoyed most about my ride last June was to wake up every morning to a new ride in a new place, on a road where you didn't know what was coming next. Well, now I'm there again! I don't know what lies ahead on the road I'm on, but that makes it exciting.

One of my many favorites Scriptures is Proverbs3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths (NLT). I do believe God is directing my path and I can't wait to discover the sights, challengs, opportunities and blessings that he has in store.

I'm planning on blogging a little more once I'm in Texas and riding the Hill Country, so please check back this summer.

Pastor Bob+