keep singing the song

It seems crazy that I took my bike for a few seconds of air time this past Monday. The other crazy thing is what I blogged the day before the accident.
The Happening: I was biking home around three o’clock in order to pick up our car for some work errands. The song “you are my strength” had been playing in my head all day and it was on my lips the whole ride toward home. It had snowed in the morning but the roads were clear and the sun was shinning. I turned onto Fifth Ave. and powered up the gears as I tried to keep pace with traffic. The Farnsworth light was coming up, a red, so after passing the last side street before it I pulled to the right of stopped traffic as any commuting bicyclist would do. The joy of not confining myself to only travel by steel box.
The healthy fifteen plus miles an hour that I was traveling became apparent as the front of an SUV pulled in front of me. With only ten feet to think about it, I found myself floating in a peaceful quietness half a second later. I saw the sky and thought, “that is the sky...” which was then interrupted by the harsh pain of pavement. I had hit the passenger front side, flipped up clearing the hood, then landed on the far side of the truck. I was swarmed with questions asking about my well being and statements of horror hoping that I was OK. I slowly sat up in pain and feeling very sore in many places. I seemed to be able to move all my limbs and stand to my feet.
My bike was not doing so well. The wheels would not spin freely and the carbon fork, which I had replaced only a couple of months before is now suspect to use.
Amazingly my attitude remained cool and balanced, unlike my last crash with a car a few years ago. I sensed God watching out for me in the moment of things and living out the song I had been singing to Him only minutes before. I hope my heart is being changed.
The Bigger Picture: Rewind to this past summer. Jean and I have one vehicle to share which has been good for saving gas and keeping me in shape. It was obvious though the realities of work demanded that another vehicle become available. We lifted it up in prayer and then told each other not to talk about it. We noticed that it was easy to start dreaming about autos that were completely out of reach. Unknown to us, my parents had started talking about getting a new car about the same time and began considering giving us their old one. Two weeks before I went down on my bike they approached us with the idea and the Saturday before found the auto they were looking for. The Wednesday after my wreck they handed us the title to their old car which enabled me to go into work the next day. Talk about perfect timing! I seriously would be unable to function without things working out that way. My family is blessed and challenged to praise God even when times are not easy. Even when life seems to throw the curve it can make for a new direction, perhaps something which leads to new endings, away from the patterns of normal return.
Yes, I trust God. The clear design of a birds egg shows the care and attention of a creator who cares. He says that I am more valued than the birds so I know that in His hands I am well.
I am thankful to only have bruising and strains, hopeful that bike lanes can come to my town, and pining to get my bike up and running soon.

the fundamental elements

Alright, I know it's a band name but this is the core of things that I am churning about in my head tonight. Nothing glamorous or heart stopping but the stark reality of how fragile things can be. It only takes a minute for life to unwind and become a storm.
I read today about a boy who got sick with the H1N1 virus, things were caught late ending up with double pneumonia. It was a heart breaking read about the week that changed the family from normal to life threatening, only to end 58 days later.
Tomorrow is unknown so how do I sleep at night? I can only hang my hat on Christ, on Jesus. I say that in all seriousness, hoping that the baggage of Christian Culture and human choices don't sour the understanding of who Jesus is. Jesus being God, in the flesh here on earth, to testify to truth that God loves us and we are special to him. A way out of the sin-filled worlds path to destruction.

In my hands life gets pretty muddy fast. Maybe some people can keep things clean or at least maintain a perception of good living but when the naked truth of who I am is out there I cannot claim to be able to accomplish anything on my own. Good choices need to be based on something, a moral compass, a guide, a light. When God says that he is good, that he is love, then it seems clear where I should set my relative compass. So far all other paths seem to stem from people and as far as I can tell people are flawed and self serving (myself included).
Bringing it all around, I find myself wanting to live, to have a great life with those I love, to not live in fear of the future, the unknown at the expense of just being alive today, making the best choices from the guide and light in life, the Liberating King - Jesus, in order to live! He can only be what he claimed to be or else a fool.
This is my hope on cold night.