Today I am having arthroscopic surgery on my right shoulder. There is a life lesson that can be learned in all of this that I would like to pass along. It all started last summer during ‘Ride Your Bike To Work Week’. Wanting to get some exercise I thought I would give a try. One day while riding a borrowed bike I found myself in the bike lane but too close to a 2” raised concrete edge near the curb. When I looked down, instead of navigating the bike away I found my wheel getting even closer to the raised edge, I panicked at the same time grabbing the brakes, front brakes included. You can let your imagination fill in the blanks. You guessed it…..my front brakes locked up. I became missal catapulting over the handle bars, nailing my shoulder as I did a swan dive onto the side walk. Not a pretty site. At first it was my male pride that was hurt the most and then my shoulder and torn ligaments.
When I told this story to a friend of mine, Al Funk, fellow pastor as well avid motorcyclist…..He said to me: “You know Dave, as motorcyclist, our instructors teach us to be careful where we look. We have a tendency to drive right into whatever we are looking at. If you see a pothole in the road or an obstacle, instead of looking at the pothole, focus your eyes on where you want to be going and you will steer in the direction you are looking. I have thought about that statement a lot and the life lesson it can teach us.
Look at where you want to be going and not just where you are. Sometimes in life we find ourselves staring at the potholes and disappointments along the road of life. We find ourselves crashing into the very things we are trying to get past. There are many examples of this.
Relationships suffer, marriages crash when people focus on past wounds or hurts. The lesson in this: Decide where you want your relationship or your marriage to be. Start focusing on where you want to be going, not just where you are. You may need to address the issues, but the strength will come in focusing on the direction you are going not just where you are today.
Likewise churches sometimes get bogged down in problems, setbacks or economic struggles and can lose sight of the visions and dreams that God has placed in their hearts. The same lesson applies; we need to ask ourselves. Where are we going? What are we becoming? While we need to always pay attention to life’s present challenges, it’s keeping our eyes on where God is leading us that give us hope and courage to keep going in the right direction.
I leave you with these words from Hebrews 12:2,3 ‘Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.’
Be careful where you look, you might just end up there.
Off to staff meeting and then to surgery. Have a great week everyone.
Pastor Dave
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
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