A few months ago, late at night, my Dad decided to put together a bike he had bought for me that day. I had needed a new bike because my old one was to small and we were getting ready for our triathlon. Go HERE to read about the triathlon!
Anyways, I like putting things together, so I decided to help him. The bike came in a big box and was already halfway assembled. Unwrapping the protective bubblewrap, styrofoam, cardboard, plastic and zip ties that covered the actual bike took quite awhile.
Once it was all laid out, the handle bars, seat, and the front tire were the parts that needed to be attached to the main frame. This bike came with instructions on how to put it together and a few tools. Laying on the floor, the bike didn't look much like a bike to me. It’s pieces were scattered about in various piles and looked more like a mess than a bike.
The directions went something like this. It showed a diagram of the bike. Named bike parts using the alphabet, Part A and Part B etc. Then over the next few pages, it gave us the steps and order to accomplish these said steps. It even had pictures. Going to be easy, right?
This was our first time to assemble a bike, in the past, we had always just bought the bike already put together. Since this was a first time thing, we had to keep close attention to the instructions. It told us to attach the handle bars first, so we took the bolt cap off and slid the handle bars down into the frame. There was a line on the handle bars that said how far to push it down. That went fairly well, moving us along the list of steps in the instruction booklet.
Next up was the front tire. This proved to be more difficult. All we had to do was put the frame over the tire and where the spokes met, tighten and secure it to the bike. The problem was our bike frame was too wide to correctly fit over the wheel. I wondered if we had the wrong part, maybe the manufacturers gave us the wrong size tire or frame?
My Dad tried to force the frame together to make it smaller, but it still was too loose fitting over the tire. We tried different methods of securing it, but nothing was working. Stumped, I went back to the instructions. I carefully reread over the steps and realized that we had overlooked one small, teeny tiny step. Our problem was we needed to put this certain part on the tire BEFORE putting the frame over it to attach it. We were trying to put it on AFTER. Once we realized how to put it together the right way and in the right order, we finally finished the bike!
Then, after we put on the seat, it was time to test out our bike assembly skills. I looked over the bike and knew all the bolts were tight, I knew everything was locked into place, I knew it was ready to be tested out, but something gave me hesitation. What if we put it together wrong? What if when I sit down, it all crumbles back into a bunch of pieces again? The visual of me lying in a mess of broken bike parts did not sound appealing! Pushing my doubt aside, I climbed up on the bike anyway. I was choosing to trust that it would hold.
And it did! I now had a brand new bike!
So you might ask, what is the reason for this post? How can I apply how you put a bike together to my life?
Well...
Have you ever felt like you live under a protective layer of bubblewrap, styrofoam, cardboard, plastic and zip ties? Ok, not literally. You know what I mean.
Have you ever felt like you hide your mess of disassembled pieces under that layer?
Have you ever felt like you just want to lay the real you out all across the floor and see the scattered piles and pieces? Your worries, your fears, your wants, your hopes, your thoughts, all the jumbled mess. Even if it doesn’t look much like how it is supposed to look.
Where is our life going?
Do we get a book of instructions to know what happens next?
Have you ever felt like you overlooked or skipped a seemingly small step, but it turns out a
important one?
Have you ever tried to put the blame on someone other than yourself?
Have you ever felt like you tried to force it to work?
Have you ever went back to the instructions and realized your mistake?
And then, have you ever felt like you now know, the right way and in the right order?
Have you ever had to push aside doubt?
Have you ever had to choose to trust?
These are questions that we all have to ponder ourselves. But I will say, we couldn't have put the bike together without taking all the bubblewrap off. Only after we saw everything laid out and unwrapped, could we move forward and build the bike. We can't move on and live the life that we were meant to live without letting go of our outer mask. Our so called protective layer of bubblewrap.
God sees through the bubblewrap. God know’s everything from our smallest worry to our biggest fear. He know’s the dreams that we have and the plans that we make. He sees all of this! He sees the good and the bad and loves us just the same. He loves us because we are His children. We are His chosen people (1 Peter 2:9) And He has a plan for each of us. A unique and beautiful plan. One that turns our messy and scattered piles into someone that we were meant to become. God can make us whole.
We need to realize that not all of our plans are His plans. His way is the right way. We might think we have it figured out. We might think we can just skim read through the instructions and be good. But we will miss the important steps to building our characters and the life that we long to live. We need to read and follow our instructions very closely.
~The Bible is our Instructions and our Directions. It tells us steps and shows us how to live.
John 14:21
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
~The Bible is our Guideline. It give us a perfect example.
John 13:15
“For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”
1 Peter 2:21
“For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us and example, that you should follow His steps:”
~The Bible is our Map. It tells us where we are going if we follow in Jesus footsteps.
John 14:1-3
“Let not you heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
~The Bible is our Recipe. It gives us the ingredients for how to live.
John 15:12
“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
Lastly, we have to choose to trust. God’s got us. Don’t let our doubts creep in and tell us otherwise. God has a plan and is in control. Take each day one step at a time. Lets strive to read through our instructions God has given us. Lets open up and let Him come in and create in us a new heart. Lets ask him to give us peace and help us trust in Him. God is not finished with us. Lets choose God’s way, not ours!
Proverbs 3:5,6
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct they paths.”
➳✩➳✩➳This was really deep, wasn’t it? Have you ever put together a bike before?
What are your thoughts on God’s Way, Not Ours? Can you relate to anything I said? Have you ever felt like you don't know how to trust?
Have you ever felt like you don't know how to find the peace that surpasses?
If you have read through this whole post,
I want to say thank you and your amazing! This was a very long post and if you have persevered, then I give you a two thumbs up!
Lets talk in the comments! And, ya'll, this is my 20th post!!! ➳✩➳✩➳
