Look Where You Want to Go

The best advice I ever got when I started mountain biking was this: look where you want to go, not where you don’t want to go. Seems obvious, right? As it turns out though, obstacles tend to capture our attention despite our best efforts to avoid them, and crashes often result. I’m embarrassed to admit that my last crash involved...wait for it...a sidewalk curb. Yeah, those curbs are really treacherous in our mountain state here. But as I was saying...in biking they recommend finding your line, which is described as scanning ahead for dangers down the trail and then moving your eyes back toward your tire. One article I read said, “Doing this up-and-back action allows your eyes to take in lots of information. Knowing hazards ahead of time can help you adjust your balance and pick a line around them.”

I started thinking about how much this concept is reflected in life. How many times have I had my head down and missed what was ahead of me? Too much time staring at my tire and not scanning ahead…or when I did look ahead, why was I giving so much attention to the things I wanted to avoid? I kept looking at them, focusing on them and then...wham! I ran square into them. Again and again and…

Keeping my head down

I had a similar revelation on a hike several years ago. The kids and I were at camp and we went on a group hike around an area that had been badly burned by a forest fire years earlier. Daphne was small at the time and spent most of the hike on my shoulders. I remember looking at my feet constantly, worried about tripping on a rock and sending us both toppling over (you may be getting the impression that I’m a bit clumsy, and that impression is accurate). When we returned to camp, people started asking us to describe what we saw on the hike. It was then I realized I had barely looked up the entire time to see what was around me! I had missed so much because I only looked at what was right under my feet. Again it dawned on me that this is so much like life. I felt like I was missing the activity and opportunities around me because I was so caught up in the step-by-step routine of every day. At the time I was very focused on making lists and checking things off those lists. My kids were young and it was often a struggle to get through the day without being exhausted and drained of patience. Get through the day and check off the stuff. I just kept looking at the tire…and missing what was ahead.

Looking at the obstacles

When I finally picked up my head and did look forward, what did I see? Sometimes I chose to focus on the direction I wanted to go. I started to set goals and do things that were fulfilling for me: writing, running/exercising, Bible study, leading a mom’s group...but the hazards would creep in and steal my attention. What if I’m not good enough to get published? What if these moms find out I don’t have it all together? Why was my marriage falling apart? These negative thoughts have so much power sometimes, it’s scary. But when I would listen, I could hear God telling me to scan ahead--to look around at the bigger picture of what He has for me and all the beauty that surrounds even the most dangerous conditions. “Stop looking at the rocks,” He would say, “I have a smoother path for you. Open your eyes and find it.” But the reality is that the path isn’t always smooth. The obstacles aren’t always avoidable. In time though, I began to discover that if I had enough speed and courage, I could sail over the rocks and ledges that seemed daunting before. Likewise, the more I pray and submit to God’s strength, the better able I am to face the obstacles in life that can’t be avoided. It’s about adjusting my balance and picking a line around them. Or plowing through them when all else fails. With God’s help, it’s totally possible.

I want to raise my head up and look forward to the future. To the path God has for me. Because right now I see some pretty great things ahead. I pray that you see the beauty and goodness He has for you, too.