Learning the Bicycle
for Heather
The older children pedal past
Stable as little gyros, spinning hard
To supper, bath, and bed, until at last
We also quit, silent and tired
Beside the darkening yard where trees
Now shadow up instead of down.
Their predictable lengths can only tease
Her as, head lowered, she walks her bike alone
Somewhere between her wanting to ride
And her certainty she will always fall.
Tomorrow, though I will run behind,
Arms out to catch her, she'll tilt then balance wide
Of my reach, till distance makes her small,
Smaller, beyond the place I stop and know
That to teach her I had to follow
And when she learned I had to let her go.
I heard a sermon today on the radio by Chuck Swindoll. He included this poem. It struck me as profound. I have found over the past couple of years that life is a bit like learning to ride a bike. It is often too scary to even try. And when we get brave enough to try, we sometimes fall down immediately. At times, we take off, feeling quite confident, and something happens that knocks us off balance. We fall down, we try to get back up, but fear stops us in our tracks. How often do we fail to let God catch us when we fall? How often do we fail to let Him hold us up while we catch our balance? How often do we tell Him that we are quite capable without Him?! We push His hands off of the bike because we most certainly know where we are going! We can do it alone! Who needs help?! We catch our balance, take off, and find ourselves in territory with which we are unfamiliar! We get scared and cry out to Him! He is always there when we discover ourselves on that bike in troubling territory! He never minds that we have shewed Him away! He is there to catch us when we fall! Thank you Heavenly Father for always being there for me, even when I am too ignorant to realize I need you so!
