Slow My Roll

I called my friend this morning to vent about my morning… and she said to me, 

    "That’s a great story! You should use it in your blog" 

– and I was suddenly (and painfully) aware that it was, indeed, a life lesson straight from God… 

My husband likes to go on long bike rides on Sunday mornings while I’m at church. 

Long like 50+ miles, long…

This morning was another normal Sunday… He left home just after 7 am for his ride and I headed to church. I can keep ‘an eye’ on him via his Garmin device and I checked it during announcements to make sure he was still moving.

After church I had one quick stop to make then I would be heading home.

Just as I finished my one errand, my phone dinged that designated ‘husband is texting’ chime.  His request was a 9-1-1 for calories and water…

“I need snacks and water. I didn’t bring enough today. Can you help me?”

“Yes”

“Dropping off taxes now. Be there asap.”

We share locations on Google maps for just such events. I could see where he was and with a click of a button, I had directions directly to where he was at that moment.  

I pulled my Wonder Woman cape out and off I went. A quick pit stop at the 7-Eleven for his favorite snacks (Quest protein bars and Twizzlers) and three bottles of water (two for him, one for me!)

I was 9.6 miles from my beloved. I would save the day! (Which, if you have read many of my blogs, you know that this act of service would speak VOLUMES of LOVE to him!)

I hurried along the route – and I may or may not have been speeding at times – but I was on a mission. I got about halfway to him and decided I should check the map again while waiting at a stoplight. 

Hmmm… he’s still 9.6 miles away. Apparently, Google doesn’t update directions to someone once they move. It just keeps the map set to where they were AT THAT MOMENT when you clicked the magical button… Well, guess what, GOOGLE…. He ain’t there no more! He kept riding on and now I’m taking the LONG way to get to him. 

I continued on, checking the map again to see if he might have stopped to wait for his curbside delivery, but he had not. He was still another 6 miles away. And in SWFL traffic, 6 miles can be a pretty long drive! I made the decision to take a left on a side road to attempt to cut him off along the route he seemed to be taking… but as I waited at yet another stoplight, I realized that I had missed him and he was still .9 away. 

His next text made my blood pressure rise.

“No idea where you’re at.”

“I’m going to gas station”

“Chasing you”

I finally caught up to him as he was standing outside the gas station with snack and water in hand. Why hadn’t he just done that from the start?!? Why did he have me stressed out and chasing him all over God’s green earth??

He waved off my snacks and water. I could tell he was exhausted, but he assured me he would eat the snacks when he got home and he now had enough water.

So I shook my head and backed out of my parking place and headed home. 

I was frustrated. I had been deprived a perfect opportunity to show my husband that I loved him. I felt rejected. All of this had me so worked up that my own Garmin sent me an alert that I needed to relax because it seemed that I was experiencing higher than normal stress.  Ya think??

So, naturally, I called my girlfriend to vent to her…

She giggled at my story, which helped smooth my ruffled feathers.

That’s when she said, “That’s a great story! You should blog about it.”

I said to her, “I’m sure this is how God feels when He’s chasing after me and I just keep moving in the opposite direction. There’s definitely a life lesson here.”

Thank God for friends who help us see the beauty in the chaos of life. 🌸

In Psalm 23:6, David says that God’s goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…”

The Hebrew word for “follow” here is “radaph”, which can also mean “pursue” or “chase after”—giving the sense that God’s goodness and mercy actively seek out David, rather than passively trailing behind.

So yeah… turns out God likely does understand exactly how I was feeling. He wants to show me how much He loves me with His goodness and mercy – but off I go, not waiting for Him, just doing my own thing. 

Wow.

There’s a beautiful song we sing at church called “Goodness of God” (click here to check it out) that says “Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me.”  

It’s time to slow my roll and let God catch up so I can fully enjoy the goodness and mercy he has for me.

Be blessed.  ✌🏻 💛 🚴🏻