Today is a monumental day in the history of, well, me. One week ago tonight, I was involved in the worst bicycle accident of my life. (Granted, the wreck would be considered wussy by the riders of the current Tour de France, but that's beside the point. I ride almost daily and am involved in a fair share of crashes.) Travelling home from a late-late dinner with Faith and some friends, Faith decided she'd follow me in the van as I rode my bike. Well, in order to lose her in my dust, I flew down the sidewalks and across parking lots on my usual route home. Unfortunately, I grew distracted in trying to keep an eye on her and lost control of the bike over a speedbump while going full speed. Long story short, I landed about 15 feet ahead of my bike with several scrapes and cuts on my shoulders, elbows, hands, and knees....the worst of which are still very much open and trying to scab over a week later. What makes today so 'monumental' is that I am once again mounting the same bicycle that bucked me a week ago tonight. In an act of sheer willpower and courage, or perhaps idiocy, I will ride again baby.

I was so angry last week at the stupidity and wrecklessness I portrayed in actually trying to race against a vehicle. Furthermore, my rage was fueled by the fact that I wrecked and damaged a virtually brand new bike...that wasn't even mine! It was a gift I had given Faith for her birthday. And I haven't even gone into how badly my knees and hands were bleeding and hurting!

All that to say this--once 24 hours or so passed and my temper began to subside, I marveled for a spell over the fact that I actually survived such an event with no serious injuries. And once the awe wore off and I realized I'd be confined to a bed for a bit longer, I started to try to learn some sort of life-lesson out of the whole ordeal. And what I got was this:

My trip home that night wasn't all that different than any other trip home I take via bicycle. I took the safest route--away from heavy traffic and through as many empty parking lots and subdivisions as possible. Granted, I made a mistake in not paying careful attention, but I was on the right path to where I needed to be going. So with this in mind, I began to wonder about the whole idea of 'path' as defined in the Bible. Psalms has a plethora references...with the 119th Psalm containing a dozen or so. But what jumped out at me the most was the 23rd Psalm, perhaps the most famous one of them all. The passage gives a beautiful comparison of the Lord to a shepherd and humanity to sheep. It talks of God leading us to green pastures and the safety and nourishment of quiet waters, while taking us down "paths of righteousness". Interestingly enough, in the immediate verse after the reference to paths of righteousness, the writer says that "even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me". This is, of course, one of the most famous lines of the Psalm, but I looked at it in a whole new light during this latest reading of it. The whole opening of the Psalm talks of God leading us as a shepherd leads his sheep. I don't think it changes course when it mentions walking through the valley of the shadow. As I see it, God leads to the pastures, the waters, the paths of rigteousness, and the Psalter makes sure to mention that as he travels through this dark valley, God is with him. How often do we look at that passage with the mindset that God leads us to and through the valley of the shadow of death?

A New Testament example can perhaps be found in Mark 4. Most of the chapter takes place on the side of a lake, with Jesus in a boat teaching through parables to a multitude on the shore. When evening arrives, it says he instructs the disciples to go over to the other side of the lake--presumably to rest, relax, and be alone with his disciples so he could explain exactly what the parables meant. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that to be Peter or James or John in that boat, with Jesus resting a few feet away would mean to be pretty confident in where you're headed. If not confident, then at least comfortable that you're with Who you're with. Well, as you know, the intense squall hit the boat. Things got tense. Folks got wet. The disciples freaked. Jesus immediately got up at the disciples' begging, quieted the storm, and chewed out the disciples: "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

Here we have 2 images:
-a shepherd leading his flock into lushness, safety, and into the shadow of death, and
-Christ taking his closest followers (his flock) to a retreat of sorts perhaps, only to encounter rough waves, wind, and the threat of death.

As I've meditated on these 2 passages this week, it's comforted and compelled me. Being on the right path and headed to where you're supposed to be does not always promise ease, safety, and prosperity. (That's one problem I've had with the big rise of popularity of The Prayer of Jabez, the book, not the prayer on which the book is based.)

Going where God leads can be a daunting task.

As we follow, making stupid mistakes like the one I made last Saturday night only adds to the danger. I guess that's just a part of our humanity. Accidents happen. Poor decisions are made.

But despite all that, our Shepherd is with us through those valleys. Taking this in faith can surely help us in our response.