"It's as Easy as Riding a Bike."

I'll admit that often times I've felt jaded towards people who share stories about their life where they have a moment where they "finally understand what it is they're born for." Perhaps it's because I have a lot of interests in a lot of different things: I love sports, I really enjoy music, playing piano, and writing. I love learning and traveling. I'm really good at administration and organization, I love baking and cooking. And while I generally love all of these things there's always been something in my heart that yearns for that 'sweet spot' that so many people other people share about coming into.

There's a phrase: "It's as easy as riding a bike." Tonight as I was thinking about my recent trip the Lord kept bringing that phrase to mind but not for the reasons that you may think. When we think about learning to ride a bicycle there are many stages. First you ride a small bike that is associated with your size. Next you graduate to a larger bike but there's still the assistance of training wheels. While you may enjoy riding your bike with training wheels you're always aware that actually there's a greater joy ahead. You may have fun on your bike with training wheels but you're never quite satisfied because you have four wheels instead of two like the big kids. There's a more limited mobility when you're carting around those two extra little wheels.Two extra wheels means more friction, so you can't go nearly as fast, either.

Next comes the humiliation and potential danger of injury as you try with all your might to learn how to balance the bike without said training wheels. You most likely will face humiliation at some point due to completely wiping out over and over and over again. Generally, if you're lucky, you will have a parent who literally will just push you as you try to learn how to hold your bike steady with your own strength. It's a delicate process where you have to learn how to balance, peddle, steer and keep up your momentum all at the same time. In this way the phrase "it's as easy as riding a bike" takes on a completely new meaning because when you're learning, it is, in fact not actually easy. 

It may sound strange to you that God would bring this up in my mind as I think about my recent trip to Kurdistan but to me it makes so much sense. You see, the final step of learning is actually being able to ride! There is something so liberating as you finally learn how to ride your bike on your own. The accomplishment itself actually brings something up inside of you that makes you want to never stop riding again. Eventually you're not even thinking of all that you're doing at once to stay upright. You're just enjoying the ride!

Something happened to me while I was in Kurdistan. How do you explain in words the feeling of finally being at home? How do you describe, perhaps for the first time feeling like you fit, like you're made for the very thing that you're doing? Really, how do you describe being completely at peace in your identity? How do you explain realizing and recognizing a completely different way of life? Discovering a life without training wheels, so-to-speak. How do you try to explain the feeling that comes with the awareness that, "This is what I'm made for. This is what I'm alive to do." How do you put into words that you've suddenly come alive in a completely different way?

In some ways nothing has changed, for I'm still 'riding a bike.' But in another way everything has changed and nothing can remain the same. I'm liberated in a completely different way and I never want to stop riding! It's interesting that Jesus took me all the way to Northern Iraq to help me realize that this is what I'm made for. For, I knew it in my mind-that I was born for this. But to 'ride' for the first time with ease, momentum, strength and energy...there's no feeling like it. No longer do I look with jaded eyes at others because I believe that God has moments like this in store for everyone who would pursue them. Moments for them to recognize what they're made for, and to be in those moments where it truly is as easy as riding a bike, and as liberating as it, too.

This trip was life-changing and in the weeks to follow I hope to share some of the stories of the beautiful people that live in Northern Iraq. I can promise you that it's not what you think. But for now I'm going to enjoy my life that's completely the same and yet completely different.