More from Rich Dixon:

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I told you about my first 2-block ride.

What’s the point of backtracking?

God Says:

Forget the former things;
            do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
            Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

To me, the implication is that God’s always up to something good. But…we need to be aware if we wish to perceive it.

It’s why we retrace our steps, why telling stories matters. When you look at where you are, it’s difficult to determine any sense of direction. Looking back allows you to better perceive how God was doing new things. Sometimes, when you project forward from those experiences, you get a clearer picture of your future trajectory.

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We seek instantaneous transformation, but long-term course alteration is mostly like steering an aircraft carrier. Rather than radical turns, life is about one-degree corrections.

Life is long-term because God is long-term. Certainly, He sometimes steps in and causes a one-eighty. But mostly He works through everyday situations and circumstances.

I moved a bike I couldn’t move. A one-degree miracle changed my course, but no one recognized it. The miracle’s only apparent downstream, after thousands of miles, when you realize you’re a long distance from where the original path would have led. It’s a one-degree miracle, and it alters everything.

It’s not water to wine, but it’s no less a miracle.

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So – what changed?

A one-block ride didn’t make me magically stronger. God didn’t infuse my skinny shoulders with some sort of spiritual power.

My slow excursion along one neighborhood street inspired faith. For the first time since the injury, I actually believed I could do it. Faith changed everything.

HOPE—an expectation based on faith.

See, I am doing a new thing!
            Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

Do you see it? God brought friends, who placed me on a bike, that helped me discover hope, that allowed me to breach an impenetrable barrier.

Hope transformed “physically impossible” into “difficult.”

HOPE changes what’s possible.