Letting go of the handle bars

Tonight, as the daylight waned, I set out on a quick bike ride through town. Under the protective shield of the darkening evening, I did some experimenting.

I tried letting go of the handlebars. (Disclaimer: I am not an advocate of riding bike at night or letting go of the handlebars.)

My balance is not the greatest. In fact, if I spit when riding bike, then I have a tendency to nearly lose control. It is kind of funny really, as long as there is nothing too close. Nevertheless, tonight, I tried letting go.

Okay, I'll be honest, after about 15 minutes of practicing, I still couldn't let go for more than a few seconds. However, those few seconds offered a glimpse into something different. I mean, the handlebars are there for a reason right. Bicycles have handlebars (or some kind of steering mechanism). That is just the way they are. We use the handlebars to steer. As I was trying to let go, I could just sense the bike wanting to go out of control and I would quickly grab the handlebars again. However, with some practice, I gained just a little bit more freedom (albeit just a few seconds) and the bike continued on course.

This reminded me about Jesus. Life is kind of like the bike. I try to steer the bike and my arms and shoulders and back start to get soar. But I keep steering to avoid going out of control. Yet, the more I let the go of the handlebars - the steering wheel, the reigns, whatever - of life, the closer I can get to Jesus. Yeah, it might seem rocky or out of control but Jesus is right there offering to take more control of the handlebars.