Riding a Bike

{Preface: Okay – this may be a really bad idea. Forgive me, all of you writers out there reading this. I’ve decided to post this little, um, poem (if that’s what you call it), that I scratched down yesterday. There are no rules to writing, right? I will probably look back (maybe even tomorrow) and laugh (or crinkle my nose) at this. But hey, the words are true.}

Riding a bike

clears my mind

though my legs work

harder than on my bike back

home. where things feel simpler

but actually aren’t

most of the time.

is it strange how heavy breathing and

honking horns,

a sweating forehead and

squinting eyes

are all together restful? no,

it’s the mind that needs

a break from the trying

and toiling and tinkering

so that it can finally

think

about the things that matter.

like the fact that

God is real;

He is Creator;

Savior;

the Name above names.

colors are bright on

people but dull on the

ground.

the sky is blue at times, and at others

clothed in gray,

carrying water

for the thirsty plants under

its sinking weight.

people look and stare, or smile

or question or laugh

at the toubabou

riding a bike

past their home where they

cook rice and sauce.

or past their field

where they bend from the waist

and pick, pull, pile, and plant

as they have done for

generations past.

or past the little ones,

walking home from school

with happiness or sadness

displayed without a veil.

so much to look at,

so much to ponder but not

without prayer.

because the One who is

with me

knows not only me and

speaks not only my language.

He knows those i see and

He speaks

their language too

and hears their prayers if they

pray in Jesus’ name,

but most of them don’t

because they haven’t been told

of this One who

died for them and seeks to

cover them in a

righteous gown

that’s more beautiful

than the loveliest cloth

they can find.

it is simple, this Gift.

and free.

all that is needed is faith

because Jesus

finished the work and seeks to

save

the lost.

there is a need

for messengers who will

love and live and labor

for and with and among

the people of

Cote d’Ivoire.

there is a need

for relationships to form

and transformation to happen

in Jesus’ name.

i pray for God’s glory

to come. Be present

in the hearts of those

i pass while

riding a bike.