“One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard:
That you, O God are Strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving.”
Psalm 62:11-12b
It was going to be our “easy” day. Acadia National Park,
Maine was beautiful, but our flatlander Virginia Beach legs were hurting from
the mountainous hiking the day before.
So today we were going to rest.
We planned to leisurely bike ride along carriage trails until we got to
Jordan Pond. Jordan Pond brags the
best Popovers and blueberry lemonade in Maine. That was the kind of day we signed up for.
At the Bike rental shop, a very strong rustic Mainer (Maineiac)
woman told us we had just missed the shuttle to the carriage trails. “No problem,” she assured us. “It is just an easy 2 mile bike ride to
the carriage trails. Once you get
past the little hill, you will be fine.”
Now, I’m not the sharpest tool in the bike shop but I knew
to clarify. “Hill? Define ‘hill’ please. We are from Virginia Beach. It is flat there.”
“Oh,” she nodded with understanding (pity?) in her eyes “…so
I should say mountain, little mountain…once you get past that you will be
fine.” Of course we will.
Our group was relatively young (ahem), in shape and prideful
enough to think we could handle this challenge. One small issue was our daughter, Maria, did not know how to
ride a bike. So, not to be stopped
by such a small hindrance, Carlos decided to rent a tandem bike. They practiced around the parking lot
and we set off.
Did I mention the small hill mountain?
I don’t know what our friendly Maineiac was thinking to
entrust this task to us. Before we
even started up the small hill mountain we lost one of the wiser of our
group to a coffee shop. The
complaining began. We joyfully yelled,
“Hey, this is the worst part, kids.
Just around that corner….”
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Carlos, Maria’s bike seat was up
too high and her knees were whacking the handlebar. Over the sound of his own
labored breathing he heard her start crying. He felt terrible and immediately
pulled over.
He gently removed her helmet and he told her that Daddy
would get her to the top of the mountain where she could have popovers and
lemonade. He kissed her knees,
gave her water and this is when I fell in love with my man all over again.
If I had been riding with her I would
not have been able to make such a promise. There was no way I could bike her up the mountain. But the most humbling thing is I also
realized I was nowhere near as patient as he was. I would have been frustrated, asking her to keep pedaling
because I couldn’t do it alone.
And most likely, I would have quit. I would not have been able to get us
where we both wanted to go.
But
her Daddy was able.
The small hill mountain that was supposed to be 2
miles ended up being a 10 ½ mile mostly uphill climb. And while Carlos suffered
to lug Maria (who did not peddle AT ALL) and her half of the tandem bike up the mountain, Maria was
perfectly content. Her Daddy was
strong enough and kind enough to get her safely to their destination.
In that moment, Carlos showed me in the flesh what Psalm 62:
11-12b tells us about God:
“One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard:
That you, O God are Strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving.”
When Maria was unable to make it up the mountain, she could
rely on her Daddy because he was strong enough and kind enough to get her to
the top. When my life goes from
hard to impossible, I need what Maria needed. I need a God that is both strong AND loving.
Can you imagine if God was either one
or the other, but not both?
A God
who is just loving would be like a kindly old granddaddy who is good for a hug
and some candy, but not able to fight off the bad guys. He would comfort us perhaps with “I’m
sorry that happened to you.” But a just kindly God would not avenge us or be
able to change anything.
A God who
is only Strong would not necessarily have the kindness necessary to handle my
weaknesses and insecurities. He might say “Suck it up” or get angry with
me.
But a God who is both STRONG
and LOVING is the perfect God, who like a good Father not only has compassion
on me, but is strong enough to get me through the incredibly hard times I cannot
and do not want to go through. And He does this because He desires to
share the destination with me.
We will never, ever forget the feast of Jordon Pond popovers and
blueberry lemonade that awaited us at the top of the mountain. And as we enjoyed full tummies and the
sugar coma that set in, we told stories of how we made it up the mountain. I think that was a little slice
of heaven right there. When we
arrive at Heaven’s banquet table there will be stories to share and victories
to celebrate, but in the meantime, I want to be sure that I am not suffering
out the mountain alone. Just as it
would have been ridiculous for Maria to tackle that mountain alone, it is crazy
for me to think I can handle what this day holds. God, the strong AND loving God, is more than able. And He avails Himself to me and to you.
God is, after all, Super Good.
