Somewhere on the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park lies an otherwise nondescript turnout, much like above. No monument marks it, tourists don’t drive by to gawk at a historical site, and honestly, few would care to see it even after this story. But asphalt can teach a lesson.
I’ve known Jerry since high school daze; he’s one of my best friends and we regularly take long rides on the bikes each year. But his very short legs have led to some issues. Most of his bikes recently have been Goldwings, which are pretty wide and a bit high. A bit too high for short legs to solidly reach the ground when he stops.
So, numerous times he’s pulled up to a stop light, or to a turnout on the side of the road, and dropped the bike. It started leaning, and by the time his short legs tried to stop the lean, the momentum was irreversible.
Therefore, dumping the bike at that little piece of asphalt at the side of a Glacier road proved to be a turning point. He decided on the spot—no more falling. Now, that didn’t mean he decided to quit riding. Nope, he got home, put his beloved and beautiful Wing on the market, and bought a Goldwing trike, one that had no chance of tipping over with those two automotive tires at the rear.
Of course, we’ve ragged on him regularly for not riding a “real” motorcycle, but he just smiles and responds, “Better to trike it than not bike it.” And we’re glad he’s continued.
Many obstacles get in between us and our desires. Illness or accidents, others’ choices, age, life itself. At times, if we can’t have it all we’d just as soon have nothing. We make it all or nothing. A lot of guys quit riding after they first go down. If they can’t ride safe, they won’t ride.
But maybe instead of giving in, we can adapt. Not adapt our dreams, but our behavior. Now, I’m not talking about settling. That’s just another form of discontentedly quitting on our goal. We still resent our inability to do it all.
Adapting keeps its importance, but realizes the practicing can use some tweaking. Jerry tweaked HOW he rode, not THAT he rode. Sure, some areas become impossible to continue with. But maybe adapting will allow continuing.
Kick Starting the Application
What do you love that you can’t love or do in the way you did? It might be physical or emotional or spiritual. Yet, you want to continue. How can you adapt how you do? Should you? How can you determine if the time has arrived to let go? If that time of ending has not come yet, how can you adapt? And, spend some time with God in prayer over it. But don’t give up too early.