Riding Against the Wind

Sean at the Charlotte Motor Speedway July 11, 2012

Tonight, Sean had his 4th time trial at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was clear skies, mostly, until the first riders pulled up the start line. The skies filled up with clouds… then the wind kicked in. Hard.

Sean did great, but his time was a little slower than his last trial… but it was still good. Really good!

I am so proud of him. However, he has been beating himself up the whole night because he wasn’t as fast as last time.

He is highly competitive… even when he is only competing against himself.

But I am here to say that I am sooooo proud of him!

He is doing something this year in his cycling that he has NEVER done. He is riding with a cycling group and even attacked Morrow Mountain a few weeks ago! He is burning up the road at least 3 times a week on his bike, covering well over 50 miles a week. He is teaching our family how to be better riders and encouraging our beautiful daughters to step outside of their comfort zones.

And yet… he is still beating himself up because he was a little slower during this time trial!

I think we all do this.

We beat ourselves up when we feel like we’ve failed… even when we’ve done the very best we could.

We beat ourselves up because we judge ourselves as failures… and are sure others are doing the same.

We beat ourselves up because we can’t seem to forgive ourselves for not being perfect.

Well… we aren’t perfect.

Not one of us.

But we are loved.

And we are loved more than we can imagine.

And I, for one, am so thankful that the Love that engulfs us is NOT dependent on how well we perform in the race of life.

I am so thankful for God’s all encompassing love, especially when I’m riding against the wind.

And I am so thankful for God’s Grace that doesn’t wait for me to get everything right before He reaches out to save me.

How about you?