Today the pastor was making reference to another pastor on staff who had endured a fractured wrist during a motorcycle accident. The accident occurred when this pastor was riding and tried to avoid hitting a squirrel. Admirable.
The pastor was poking fun at him a bit, calling him a “novice” and saying it was a “rookie mistake.” He stated that seasoned riders know how to avoid the majority of accidents. An important lesson that is taught in “motorcycle riding school” is this: Do not focus on what is straight ahead of you. Huh?
The safe way to ride is to look to the place you WANT to go. Aha.
He said that many motorcycle accidents happen when the rider is so focused on the guardrail as he turns a bend, that he actually hits it because he is not looking past the guardrail.
That idea immediately took me back to when I was learning to drive. I was out one evening with my dad. I was moving along slowly and he noticed my gaze was down toward the front of the car. He asked what I was looking at. I told him I was watching the yellow lines on the road so I would be sure to not get too close to them. He quickly informed me that I need to look straight ahead and not focus on the lines. It was nearly verbatim to what the pastor said this morning. My dad’s words were: “You have to look ahead of you. You have to look where you are going, not where you are at the moment.”
It’s funny how hearing something 44 years later makes so much sense.
How often we see the bumps in the road, the distractions, and focus so anxiously on them that we cannot look ahead. We forget to keep our eyes on where we want to go.
I want to see the big picture. I want to notice the bumps and be aware of them, but keep my gaze always on the horizon.
Thanks Dad.