Update & Thought for
the Day Combo:
On Friday morning I did about 30 minutes of exercises before attending
a meeting that lasted until noon. My
son, Jon, came over to help me look for the bike rack that I had won at a
silent auction a couple of years ago and never took out of the box. I was going to the bike shop to test ride a
bike and I wanted to take my old bike with me to trade-in, if they’d take
it.
I remembered where the bike rack USED to be. After 20 minutes of searching, Jon found it
buried under a pile of stuff in the shed.
I think some mentally disturbed person designed the assembly instruction
sheet as a method of torture. It was all
pictures without any frame of reference or written description. We eventually realized that the instruction
sheet was for several different models and would switch between them without
any notification. With a number of false
starts, we eventually got it assembled.
Nate at Spring Street Sports in Chippewa Falls was great help throughout
the process in finding a bike that would work with my prosthetic. They ordered a Trek Pure for me to try out
and I was so happy when I found that it actually worked! The pedals are located far forward of the
seat which changes the angles/motion that your legs make while pedaling which I
can do with my prosthetic leg. Woot!
Woot! It was so fun to ride again. Just
taking the short test ride was more exercise than my legs have gotten since
last summer. Sweet!
Nate had previously told me that they might be able to give me $25-$50
for my old bike, or they might just take it on consignment. I was really hoping for the cash and thought
it would be great to get $50. He took
one look at the bike and offered me $170.
SOLD! Talk about a God-send! That lowered the price of my new bike down to
$300. Nate could have taken me on the
used bike and just given me $50. He
certainly earned my trust and any return business with how he dealt with me.
After getting home, I took the bike for a celebratory spin around
town. It isn’t geared for speed (7
gears); but it is a nice ride and I look forward to adding a ride to my daily
exercise routine. It was warm enough
that I rode around town with shorts on exposing my prosthesis. I’m certain that the “one-legged bicycle
rider” will be the talk of the town for a few days as they get used to seeing
me. J
It is yard sale weekend in Fall Creek, so I decided to try to sell some
stuff that this one-legged man no longer needs.
So I went to the storage unit to see if I could load the stuff up so I’d
be ready to put it out early on Saturday morning. I got the two-man, 16-foot ladder stand
loaded onto the trailer by myself with the use of a piano dolly. The other things, climbing sticks, screw-in
tree steps, etc. weren’t too much of a challenge, except my leg started hurting
so I kept adding another layer of socks after each trip that I took. I then went to the church to get the large
treadmill that I had hidden in my office closet. I was able to get it down the hall and out
the front door; but I couldn’t get it up onto the trailer by myself. By this time I was in pain and had exceeded
the limit to the amount of socks that I had on; so there was no relief for me.
I realized that I
needed help so I started making phone calls and eventually Brian answered and
came out to “help” me (by doing all the work while I watched)! He asked where the yard sale was that I was
taking the stuff to. I told him that I
was just going to put the stuff on my driveway.
His wife was already doing a yard sale and he said we could add my
things to her sale. So we unloaded the
stuff I’d gathered plus four adult-sized ATV helmets to her sizeable pile. Brian chided me as he saw that I was in pain
and said, “Why didn’t you call me for help sooner, instead of doing all that
yourself?” My answer was simple. “Brian, I AM a GUY!” I went home and found the owner’s manuals for
the treadmill and the ladder stand and took them back to Brian and Sharon’s house
and then headed back home. I was so glad
to get the leg off and get into the shower.
That is the most physical labor that I have done in a long time.
Last Sunday at church, I challenged people to go on a God Hunt during
this week. Look for things like answers
to prayer, unusually linkage or timing, unexpected help or assistance, etc. These are all indications of God at work
(sometimes behind the scenes) in your life.
They are evidences of God’s loving care for us that we often
overlook. At the end of Friday I saw
numerous examples in my own life; but the two biggest were: 1) Brian able to
help at the drop of a hat and offering to sell my stuff at their sale; and 2)
Nate at the bike shop giving me an unexpectedly large amount for my old bike
and thus lowering the price on my new bike.
Several times throughout the day yesterday I realized that God was at
work and I stopped to give Him thanks as He deserved. You might say that they’re just coincidences or
encounters with good-hearted people.
While that may be true, I also see the ultimate cause and change agent
behind these events and choose to give Him praise. I choose to see them as signs that God is
alive and active in my world.
I’d challenge you to be on the lookout for God Sightings in your own
life. Look to see what is going on. Take time to notice of those serendipitous events
in your life. Then give God the glory!
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