The most rewarding trail

So I'm riding this trail.  It's a wide trail.  Mostly flowy.  The gowing is easy.  Somehow it seems to be primarily downhill.  There are few technical sections.  A lot of people are riding the trail.  Some pass me by, so I seem obliged to pick up the pace.  I notice a trail marker but I'm going to fast to read what it says.  I keep pedaling.  I wonder if I'm passing more people than are passing me.  I pick up the pace.

I stop for a moment to get some hydration.  Someone stops with me and says something about a  different trail.  A trail that is for every bike.  That doesn't seem right.  I'm  a CAT 1 Cross country racer.  I'm not interested in the downhill stuff or silly jumps.  I pedal on.

There's a trail marker up ahead.  Looks familiar.  I'm going too fast to tell what it says.  I pedal faster.  I think I'm doing well.  I seem to be traveling faster than most.  I wonder if I'm going fast enough.  It's tough to tell.  I feel pretty good. 

While taking a moment to recover, a rider pulls along side me.  There's something different about him.  He tells me something about another trail.  He says it's better than this trail or something.  I don't really understand what he's saying.  Besides, I'm really starting to get good at this trail.

There's that familiar trail marker up ahead.  Could it be the same one?  I slow down.  I think it is.  Have I been riding a loop trail?  I stop at the trail marker.  This new trail looks different.  Someone stops and explains to me that this optional trail is called "The Way".  That it would take me where I'd never been, that anyone could ride it regardless of experience or ability.  It sounded too good to be true.  None-the-less I decided to try it.  Something inside of me longed to ride something different. 

I push off, onto the new trail.  It's super sweet.  It's kinda narrow.  There are uphills and downhills.  There were plenty of technical sections.  Some things I didn't think I could ride, that were beyond my ability, but somehow I always managed to be able to ride it.  There were mile markers on this trail.  I was actually going somewhere. 

There were places that I somehow managed to get off the trail.  But inevitably I'd end up in the briars or loose rocks and I'd get scraped up before I'd realize that I had gotten off of "The Way".  So I'd make my back onto the trail.

"The Way" is difficult, sometimes steep and a bit scary, sometimes twisty, always narrow.  But it is the sweetest trail I have ever been on.  I don't ever want to get off of it.  It feels like it was made with me in mind.  It has been an amazing ride to this point.  I don't know how far I'll go or where it ends but it is very rewarding.  Always challenging.  Never easy.   

And I remember that I found this trail because someone took the time to tell me about it.  It would be selfish of me not to tell others about the most rewarding trail ever.  Anyone can ride it.

The Bible says:  Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. (John 14:6 NLT)

and
 

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV)

and, of course:

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17 NLT)


Want the most amazing ride of your life?  Ride "The Way".  Want more information?  Read the Bible book of John and start your journey.


See you on the trails!  ...and on The Way!