“Dave!” I called to a fellow parishioner as he walked up to the church doors. “Have you lost weight? You look great!”
“Thanks!” he said. “I took up biking. At first I could barely make it a mile. Now I ride everywhere, and I’m down 30 pounds!”
I was impressed—and a little envious. Weight loss is a funny thing. Sometimes progress just plateaus. That’s what happened to me, and I’m no couch potato! I’m always dancing, walking and doing floor routines. Looking after the toddlers at the preschool where I work burns quite a few calories, too! But I’d been in bike accidents in the past, when the gears had suddenly shifted, and osteopenia had made my bones brittle. But I longed to ride again—and to lose those extra pounds!
God, I need a special bike. No gears. A wide seat and tires, I prayed, naming safety features that would decrease my risk of an accident. And make it red! I added, smiling at the specificity of my prayer. It sounded like I was ordering from catalog! But I wasn’t sure a bike like that was affordable.
I was still thinking of Dave’s weight loss days later when a fellow teacher and I brought our preschoolers out onto the playground. They were riding on small bicycles, which reminded me of my prayer. “I’d like to increase my exercise,” I said. “I’m thinking of taking up biking.”
“I have a bike I don’t need,” she said.
She brought it in the next day. A one-speed. With wide tires. And the color? Cherry red!
Download your FREE ebook, Mysterious Ways: 9 Inspiring Stories that Show Evidence of God’s Love and God’s Grace
