Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Is There a Message in this?

Believe it or not, I do think about blogging, and updating my blog. There have been a number of posts that have been generated in my head but never saw the light of the keyboard. My next post (that is, this one) was supposed to be about my new cycling addiction, but that will have to wait. I say this (say? type?) only to half explain the following story.

My last four days have looked like this: two days of fairly hard riding (good pace, hills etc.), one night of two hours worth of floor hockey and a ride yesterday that was just over two hours in length and one that stretched me to the limits of my current ability. I rode really well, maybe better than I ever have, but I was also riding with some really good cyclists. Today my plan was to get out for a short (1 hour) hard ride on flat terrain, perhaps another hard ride on Thursday and a "recovery ride" on Friday.

Due to some unforeseen news that I received, my mood for today's ride was significantly dampened. That, coupled for four days of fairly strenuous exercise, (not to mention a pretty good headwind) resulted in today being that recovery ride rather than a hard one. (A recovery ride, from what I've learned, is a chance for you muscles to work but also recover. The idea is to pedal at a fairly high cadence but without having to utilize much effort. "An easy spin," as my friend Tim calls it.)

Thus, for the last portion of my ride, I ended up on the local bike path, which, like many bike paths, attracts a variety of activities from walking, strolling, rollerblading, real slow cycling, young people paying no attention to anything around them , and...squirrels. Now, since my addiction began a couple of months ago, I've been on the bike path numerous times. It is not uncommon to encounter a squirrel or three. Usually, they do the normal squirrel thing: stop where they are bound to get killed if they and the vehicle coming toward them maintain their current position and momentum, then decide to run one way or the other, most often back in the direction they originally came from.

Today, in under an hour and over the course of, oh, I don't know, 8 miles or so, I encountered no fewer than 12 squirrels. Did I mention it's not uncommon to encounter a squirrel or three? TWELVE! And four of them appeared quickly from the side of the path, sort of without warning, charged in front of me missing my tire by inches.

Now, I happen to believe that there are things in the physical realm that God uses to teach us about the spiritual realm and/or to deliver a message. When the thought entered my mind that perhaps there was some lesson to be learned from these kamikaze-like squirrels it seemed as though the number of squirrels multiplied.

So, what's the message? Have I been narrowly avoiding some sort of disaster? Do my eyes need to be opened to things going on around me? Less seriously, maybe it's just going to be one of those years when it comes to Middle School ministry and this was just a warning? Or, maybe squirrels (and spiders) are pawns of Satan? Hmmm....