As promised before in my previous blog post, here are some fun happenings in my fundraising process, specifically lessons learned while on the bike.
Okay, so as a kid, I LOVED to bike. Since I was 6 years old, I've had several bikes, all faithful travel companions. And to be entirely honest, not much has changed. I've still never owned a car and I am that crazy stubborn person that bikes nearly EVERYWHERE. And I've seen it all on the bike. From the very beginning, I broke my arm at 5 years old learning to ride the tricycle. Since then, I've flown over my handlebars, cracked helmets, narrowly avoided the slaughter of many squirrels and chipmunks, and I've even been hit by a car. Sorry about that tangent! But PRAISE BE TO GOD that my fundraising experience on my bike has been much less eventful and dangerous (I swear I'm a safe biker).
With all of that backstory covered, I am so filled with joy to bike all over the place, meeting with people and inviting them to join my partnership so I can go to Berlin and work with refugees. I'm so grateful to spend all of my travel time taking in the beautiful fall colors of Madison while enjoying the last bits of sunshine and warmth of the summer. Although I love biking, it's not always rainbows and sunshine (but literally, that just happened the other day). It's physically exhausting and extremely inconvenient for SO MANY reasons, a few being bad weather, nighttime, or the lack of a bike path. The cool thing is that God has been speaking truth into my life from my time on the bike, lessons that I can directly apply to fundraising. Things like:
1. KEEP GOING
As with many physical activities, biking an average of 12 miles a day will teach you perseverance. When I start to feel "a little tired of having to bike everywhere" or when I've been biking most of the way against the wind, I start to dread the rest of the way to my destination. I always get to where I'm going though. It takes some sweat and time, but I get there and I usually find something to smile about while on the ride. These thoughts on the bike remind me that fundraising is a process and I'm at week 4 of 12. I've accomplished a lot so far, but there is still more to be done each new day. Sometimes I grow tired of the administrative work or waiting on connecting with people, but it's just another "mile" of many I have yet to cover until I've reached my goal. But I'll get there, I always do on my bike! ;)
2. SET YOUR SIGHT ON JESUS
God has been bringing my attention to Proverbs 4:25-27 twice now. "Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do no swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil." Of course I immediately thought about biking and keep my eyes focused ahead of me as I cruise to my destination (although I do look left and right to check traffic!). It has also really encouraged me as I am seriously relearning every day that God is really the one in complete control. I need to wait on Him and trust Him fully to lead me as I'm figuring out this fundraising process. Spending that precious daily time with him and keeping him as the center of my identity through the ups and downs of fundraising has been key to my success (so far). I refuse to let fear control me or doubts to distract me from accomplishing the task that God has set before me. HALLELUJAH that God will part the sea for me and drown my fears in His perfect love.
3. JOY
And through it all, I am reminded that all is well in Jesus and his glory will be achieved no matter what. Nearly everytime I'm biking somewhere I think (in a very elated state), "WOW. I LOVE BIKING SO MUCH. IT'S JUST SO GREAT! LOOK AT THAT TREE! SEE THOSE COMMUNITY GARDENS! IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL OUTSIDE." I could never stop biking because even as inconvenient as it can be sometimes, I just enjoy it too much! In fundraising, the more phone calls I make and the more people I meet just fuels my excitement and pushes me forward towards my goal. This is such a time of joy and I'm so honored to be invited into what God's doing. I wouldn't change a thing. Stay tuned to see all that he's doing to provide for me in this season of fundraising!
Peace! And get on a bike! It's so beautiful outside!! :)