Joy and Bike Riding

"Dad, do you know what today reminds me of?"  Vince wailed to me.

"No," I said.  "What day?"

"It reminds me of Judgement Day!" Vince said.

We were working on riding a bicycle without training wheels and it was a mighty struggle.  At least part of the problem was that Vince didn't want to learn how to ride his bicycle on just two wheels.  While Anna tends to be our dramatic child, Vince was pulling out all of the stops at that moment.

I'm not totally sure why we think it is a big deal to learn to ride a bicycle.  I have no idea how many (if any) of the great men and women in history learned to ride a bicycle, but it certainly seems like a good idea to teach our children to do it.

Flash forward a few weeks and Vince and I were outside with the same bicycle and the same struggles.  Something was different this time.  Vince was ready to learn.

"Dad," he told me in an excited voice.  "I have thought of a strategy that will help me ride well.  I will pedal and steer."

That certainly sounded like a good plan and it worked.  Within a few tries, he was riding a considerable distance on his own and he hasn't looked back since.

So often the difference between figuring something out and disaster is our attitude when approaching it.  The days where I go in excited and up beat are so much better than those days where I Eeyore my way through them -- regardless of the actual events that I meet.

The Bible says that the "Joy of the Lord is your strength."  I certainly have found this true.  There is nothing like a little joy to get one through a long Monday or, a busy Thursday for that matter.

So, stock up on joy.  It will make the hardest task easier and help you survive the longest days with a smile on your face.

Or maybe learn to ride a unicycle...

The future is just more pleasant with joy in our hearts.