Our church has started a bowling league, the Luther League. At the outset Mr. Goodneedle was enthusiastic, I encouraged him to join; I thought that was a great idea for him. I wasn't interested. In the least. I'm not anti-bowling, I bowled in a league myself twenty years ago. But now? I simply didn't have the time. My husband persisted, "please, why don't you come along and just watch?" he asked. I balked. "No, look at my calendar, I explained; "it's already full-- every day. If I add one more thing something else will have to go, I have no idea what to eliminate". He simply looked at me. It wasn't an accusatory look, it was more of a pleading one. "I would love to have you come along" he quietly said, "but it's up to you." Hmmm. You know where this is going. I went. I bowled. I had a terrific time. Mr. Goodneedle bought me my own ball (he got himself one too). Now, let me tell you this: I am
NOT a good bowler, not by any stretch, but I am persistent. I am hopeful that over time I will at least see some level of improvement (and I am here to tell you that the ball wasn't the problem!😉). You know what the most interesting thing about all of this was: I
found time. So, that would be a great story in itself, but it doesn't end there; oh, no. "We should get bikes" he said casually one morning. "What?" I was shocked this time. "We should get bikes" he repeated. "That's what I thought you said" was my reply. This came from out of the blue. "Why?" I asked. "Well, now that we are down to one house (having sold his mother's home last month) and we have more free time wouldn't it be fun to take bike rides together?" This question was so dear to me, and he was so sweet, that I was
almost convinced it could be a good idea. But then there was that over-crammed calendar again (neither of us ever have what I would have called "free time); that, and the fact that I have never been all that fond of riding bikes, even in my childhood. I could think of a million reasons to object to this proposal, but I held them inside. Again, you know where this is going. We bought the bikes, and the cages for our water bottles, and the odometers; I even got a helmet. I pedaled 7.2 miles on our "inaugural" ride. I am not sure that I had ever ridden over five miles at one time in my life before. We enjoyed it thoroughly; we biked on a greenway at a leisurely pace (7.9 mph), and I am ready and eager to ride again! Yeah, that calendar is still full but I have learned that I am a master at moving things around.
Life is Good!
