Thirty minutes to work, eighteen minutes home. That’s the difference the wind makes on a 3.78 mile bicycle ride. Well, at least that’s the difference the wind made yesterday. It might have been blowing a bit harder when I rode home for lunch. Reckon I’ll let you figure out which trip had the benefit of a tailwind…

Sometimes, it seems like no matter how much effort we put in, we just can’t gain on the goal. Whether we’re pedaling a bike, peddling pots and pans or insurance plans, or trying to train up a child in the way she should go, there are times when it seems we just can’t see any corresponding progress.

Then there are other times when it seems like even the tiniest effort yields rewards. We feel like we’re barely pushing and yet the whole blasted train starts to move. In the right direction, no less! And oh, my, what fine times those are!

We might be a bit unsure whether it’s our biorhythms all peaking together, the mystic winds of the universe majestically interwoven, or God’s own touch on hand, heart and mind. Whatever it is, it makes for some mighty fine miles and moments. As long as you never quit trying.

It reminds me of how long little green tomatoes can hang on the vine, growing a bit from day to day but still staying green for a month or more. And then, in just a few days, the color changes from “don’t you even think about picking that tomato” to “quick, get the bacon cooking and the bread a’toasting; this tomato’s gonna be perfect in another five minutes.”

No matter whether it’s little green tomatoes or some five-year-plan, we have to keep doing our due diligence. Doesn’t matter how hot the days or how tired we are of hoeing, if you quit halfway down the row, there won’t be any harvest at the end of it.

As the scripture says (Galatians 6:9), we should never let ourselves wear out on doing good. In due season, we will reap the ripe red fruits of righteousness, if we don’t give up.

H. Arnett
6/13/19