In late 2014, I met one of my best friends. We spent the early part of 2015 bonding over countless hours of road biking. We signed up for a ride scheduled for early May, which gave us just the level of motivation needed to complete regular training rides. But these rides were about so much more than building endurance. They were more about building a friendship that would last across the miles and years. It was about bonding in sisterhood and sharing the love of Christ.
This time of my life was pretty tough. In mid-2014, we were told my mom was in the final stages of her fight with metastatic breast cancer. This lady was a fighter, more than almost anyone I’ve ever met. She approached this battle with grace, and continued to shower us with love even as her health deteriorated.
As Terry and I biked, we talked about life, our families, the goodness of God, and so much more. It’s beyond my ability to express how these conversations enriched my life. I talked to my mom on the phone every day, and I couldn’t imagine not being able to share my musings about life with her. However, the deeper my relationship with Terry grew, the less of a concern this became.
I came to understand the importance of having friends like Terry in my life. While there’s nothing quite like a mom such as mine, this type of sisterhood is also important. This is because you can bolster each other up during the tough times and remind each other of who you are in Christ.
In the words of King Solomon from the book of Ecclesiastes:
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either one of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
~ Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV)
Winter came and went, and with the newness of spring, my mom entered her new life in the heavenly realms. I was at peace knowing she was no longer in pain and was in the presence of Jesus. Over the prior months, the friendships I had developed with Terry and many others covered me and my family with the love of Christ.
I experienced the truth Jesus was conveying when he said:
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
~ John 13:34-35 (NIV)
Shortly after my mom’s passing, the day of the big ride arrived. We awoke early, shivering at the starting line while we waited for the announcers to release us. Though it’s said “April showers bring May flowers”, we spent the whole 40 degree day under May showers with no flowers in sight. Wet and cold, we nonetheless continued on our way.
At the 30 mile halfway mark, we enjoyed lunch with our friend and riding companion, Elisabeth, and tried to get warm. Before long a support van appeared, offering to take riders who didn’t want to continue to the finish line. The three of us shared a look, and our eyes said what our voices would not. Had any of us spoken the word, our ride would have been finished. Instead, as a cohesive unit, we trudged on.
When you’re cold and tired and at your wits end, the mind can be a terrible thing. Remember, I had said farewell to my mom shortly before this event, counted in mere days. As the miles dragged on, and the feeling in my feet diminished, my mind started to get the best of me. To get through it, I turned my mind to lovely things like the smell of the rain, the sound of the birds on spring mornings, and my favorite songs.
I think this is partly what the Apostle Paul meant when he said:
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
~ Philippians 4:8-9 (NIV)
As I unclipped from my pedals and stepped onto the ground at the last rest stop, I quickly realized I could no longer feel my feet. A nice couple rushed over as they saw me stumble and ushered me to their van. Before I could say a word, they had wrapped me in a blanket, put me in front of a heater, and removed my socks and shoes. Once I was warm, they gave me new socks and sent me on my way.
I was enveloped in the kindness and love of these strangers for the rest of the ride. As I approached the finish line, they were there along with my friends, husband, and kids cheering me on. Suddenly, I didn’t miss my mom quite so badly. I realized I carried her love within me, and remembered that the love of Christ covers it all.
We can experience His love by taking time to appreciate the lovely smell of the rain, enjoying the company of friends and family, experiencing the kindness of strangers, and in so many other ways. As we’re told in 1 John 4, God is love and we’re able to love because God loved us first. We’ve been given a gift, and the most wonderful thing we can do is share it with others.
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
~ 1 John 4: 9-11 (NIV)
When we choose to follow Christ, we become part of His body and each have a role to play (1 Corinthians 12). By discovering our God-given gifts, we’re able to contribute in the way He’s uniquely equipped us. However, if we discover our gifts and fail to love, what have really done?
As the Apostle Paul explains so clearly:
If I speak in the tongues of men or angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
~ 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 (NIV)
Friends, let us love one another. Let us remember we’re not alone. God is with us always. And because of the love He has shown us, we can love others. May love be our motivation, the driving force behind who we are and what we do. Let us love people well.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
~ John 3:16 (NIV)
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
~ 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)
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