Rich Dixon finishes the first week of his ride.

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A reflection about last week’s post, to finally complete the first week of our 1500-mile ride:

I won’t romanticize 35 years of paralysis; being confined to a wheelchair stinks. It’s painful and frustrating.

I believe God can heal my injury.

I’m NOT thankful for the accident or its terrible consequences, but I am grateful for the good He’s brought from tragedy. I am closer to Jesus because of my injury.

I believe God answers my prayers. In every essential way – in Kingdom terms – God has healed me. He’s used traumatic circumstances to bless me in countless, unimaginable ways.

You and I can’t know why I’m still paralyzed, but I reject any suggestion that God ignores my prayers for physical healing.

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Kelley talked about respecting God’s timing. Maybe He told her to wait, perhaps His YES involved the longer-than-expected time frame of a one-degree miracle. Maybe it took sixteen years to perceive the radical, but gradual, alteration that ultimately led her to a place of such great joy.

God promised a child to Abraham and Sarah when they were in their seventies; they waited a quarter-century for Isaac’s birth. The Israelites entered the land of milk and honey more than six centuries after God’s promise to Abraham. Simeon served his entire life in the temple before he beheld the Messiah.

God frequently orchestrates long-term arcs rather than sudden U-turns.

If He doesn’t seem to be responding, perhaps the answer isn’t NO or WAIT. Maybe He’s doing a new thing right now, but we need time and trust to see the fruits of His one-degree miracle from our limited perspective.

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Much of this might seem confusing, even contradictory. That’s okay. I’m not a theology guy.

I’m telling a story about a journey with Jesus. I’m learning He doesn’t fit in neat outlines.

He’s God. I’m not. I’m glad.

To be continued…