Keep Pedaling (10/04/2026)

It was the summer of 1955 in tiny Rogers, Texas. I had finally talked my dad into letting me ride a bike but that entailed teaching me how to ride. My sister, who was three years older than me, had gotten a new and bigger bike, so her castoff was available. And so, on a Saturday morning my dad took me outside and he held the bike while I clumsily straddled the frame and climbed up on the seat. His instructions were simple. “You have seen how it’s done. Just remember to keep pedaling.”

No surprise that I didn’t nail it on my first attempt. He had to right me and the bike several times before I got the technique down. But every time he helped me back up, his advice was the same, “Keep pedaling.”  And I think no matter how old I grow, every time I see a youngster on a bike with a parent obviously in training mode and hanging on, I remember that day and my dad’s advice, “Keep pedaling.” And time has taught me, his advice fits so many areas of my life even though I haven’t ridden a bike in 40 years.

“Keep pedaling.”  Life brings many challenges and most of them we can navigate if we just keep pedaling. Persistence isn’t just for bike riding; persistence is a virtue we must develop and exhibit throughout life, especially in our spiritual journeys. We rarely get it right the first time or even the tenth, but we have to keep getting up and trying again.

 And if we’re blessed, we will have someone by our side who will help us dust ourselves off after failure and try again, companions on our journeys. As St. Paul said it so well in Hebrews 10:25, “Let us rouse one another to faith and good works.”

But let us always remember that we always have the LORD at our side, with us, caring about us, and encouraging us to “Keep pedaling” to our destination – to life in Him.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.