The ride this year felt different in a lot of ways.   I started to notice it during the planning, during the ride, and at the finish.  Couldn’t put my finger on it for a couple days but then I realized what it was.  

The trip had all the same elements of the previous 5 trips… except no rain, winds, or thunderstorms lol.    There were physical challenges, interesting people, miles of beautiful landscape, hours of talking with Kevin and even more hours of just riding and thinking.   The thing that was different was wisdom.  Sure I learned a lot over the previous 5 trips, but my long ride last summer gave me so many different experiences that I was able to bring that wisdom to this trip.   I had learned how to quickly plan routes, how to adjust miles per day based on terrain so that there was extra time to relax.  I was able to plan our food stops better and what food was needed to keep us going.  I was able to review and adjust our route quickly as needed.  And most importantly I was able to rely more on the Holy Spirit to guide our trip overall.  Wisdom all around.  Wisdom is the proper application of knowledge.  It is possible to learn and know lots of things – but we need to apply that to our lives, otherwise it’s more like trivia.

What was different this trip was the wisdom learned through my previous experiences applied so that we were able to ride, be safe, and meet wonderful people much more easily.

It’s really the same process regarding how we should approach scripture.  We can learn all kinds of facts, background, and context when we read the Bible.  But if we don’t apply that knowledge properly – it’s just information.  God asks us to know Him, know about Him, and then live out what it means to believe in Him.  This is how we live wisely as followers of Jesus.  This also makes life easier relying on Him when we face challenges, and makes us grateful when we recognize his blessings. 

I thank the Lord for the ability to take these rides. But I am especially thankful that he continues to help me grow in wisdom. Already looking forward to RAW 7…