Proverbs 27:1 “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”
That was our verse for the day on Thursday, and the weather alone played it out for us! We left Shelbyville feeling good but expecting to get wet. We looked at the radar frequently throughout the morning and watched a major line of thunderstorms develop to the southwest and begin working its way toward us. As we took off Thursday morning, everyone was biking well. The day of rest on Wednesday had really been a help to everyone. We felt good and we biked better. It was a fun morning.
Then we rolled into our first break in Hope, Indiana.
When we mapped the trip back in early April, Chad and I weren’t even sure how this spot would work out for our break. There didn’t seem to be any bathrooms or shelter available, but it was really our only option so we took it. It was at the baseball diamonds in Hope, and as we learned on Thursday right next to the elementary school. As my group rolled in on Thursday morning, every group had been biking great and were all still at break. Normally we wouldn’t see some of the groups at the break as they’d be further ahead or behind and our timing wouldn’t line up. Today, though, with everyone biking so well we came in as the first group was getting ready to send off again.
Thankfully, though, we were able to stop them from taking off when we got there. We wanted to get online and check the radar first to see where the storms were at. Rocky pulled out his iPhone and pulled up the weather. We checked a few different things, taking some time to figure out how fast the storms were moving at us. After a little bit it became clear that the storms had grown in strength and were bearing down on us fast! We moved everyone up towards the school. Thankfully it was open for summer cleaning. Chad and I walked in, found some staff and asked if it was ok for us to seek shelter there while the storms passed over. They kindly agreed and we started moving people and bikes inside.
Literally, just as we moved the last few bikes indoors, it started POURING! Like Noah’s Ark pouring. We took a snapshot of the radar at the time with Rocky’s phone. Here’s the image, we were right in the middle of it in Hope. (Evidently we were very close to the other Milford, IN, too! Not sure it’s much of a town, but it and our Milford both show up when you search for Milford, IN in Google maps.)
We sat around at the elementary school in Hope for about an hour as the storm passed. It was a huge blessing that God provided for us. A “shelter from the storm” is how Isaiah describes Jesus in Isaiah 32:2. In another cool way we experienced God as our shelter, refuge, and provider. It was good! There will always be those times in life where God allows circumstances that force us to stop, get off our bikes, and wait.
So we waited…
After about an hour it had cleared off and we decided to get everyone back on the road. It was still raining and it was incredibly COLD. By the time we got to lunch in Columbus, IN the rain had quit, the wind died down, and the sun was coming out. Before long it was just plain HOT! It was amazing how much the day had changed in such a short amount of time, and we were reminded very easily of Proverbs 27:1 “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”
When we arrived in Seymour on Thursday, we had planned on going to the pool to cool off and clean up. But because of the cold rain only a few hours earlier in the day the pool had closed for the day and we were stuck without showers. Thankfully our host at Seymour’s Central Christian Church had called ahead to find out the pool was closed. She took the initiative to clean out some showers at the church that had never been used, but had only served as storage closets up to this point. Thankfully we WERE able to shower and God provided for us again.
The rain delay caused us to arrive late to Seymour, and showers took a lot of time, too. As a result our session on Thursday night was cut short and we spent most of it just sharing about the day. The teaching for the day was on the spiritual habit of tithing. Tithing our time and our stuff. Due to the short time we simply talked about holding on to our stuff and our time with a very light grip. Recognizing that it was all God’s. He is the one who owns it all to begin with and has simply entrusted us with a little bit. I encouraged the kids to live out 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.“
One of the things that drains me personally more than anything else is a complaint-filled person. And when I read the story of the Exodus (in the books of Exodus & Numbers) I believe that it is one of God’s most hated attitudes as well. If you read those accounts you find that God’s people quickly forgot all that he had provided for them, and instead of being thankful they began complaining… about EVERYTHING. As a result, God allowed them to remain and continue wandering in the wilderness. I think the same is true for us today. When we live lives full of complaint, rather than thankfulness, God allows us to wander around in a spiritual wilderness that can be incredibly lonely, draining, and absolutely brutal. Part of the reason God wants us to tithe, to give of our time and our stuff, is so that we keep a right attitude about it. He wants us to recognize that all of it is his to begin with and that we ought to be thankful for all that he provides. When we fail to recognize that he owns it all, we can quickly become selfish and full of complaint, and that’s a bad place to be.
We talked a lot of about attitude tonight and how everyone had done such a great job at rolling with the punches on Thursday. There were only a few who we ever heard complain on Thursday. It was good to see the vast majority of the group live out 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18! We continually reminded the students that they choose their attitudes. They can either complain or they can have an attitude of thankfulness. When they choose to complain they choose to sin. And when any of us chooses to sin we choose to suffer. But their other option is to choose faith and receive God’s blessing. Choosing faith is choosing to obey God’s word – no matter how I feel about it! In this case it meant choosing thankfulness and trusting God for a good result! Thursday was a day filled with attitude choices and it was a blessing to see most of the group choose faith!
