Rich Dixon’s story about riding the length of the Mississippi is half done. But Rich and Becky are still in the middle of Front Range Freedom Tour riding and planning. Check them out!

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Old Chain of Rocks Bridge was a difficult-to-reach highlight that would have been easy to skip. I’m glad we didn’t.

You shouldn’t hurry when you’re following a God-sized dream. It’s an elusive thing that may not be exactly you expect it. It’s worth the time and effort to reach remarkable, out-of-the-way places. Sometimes, that’s where elusive things hang out.

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Parts of Rich’s Ride were glorious almost beyond description. Speaking events, words of encouragement, waves and shouts from drivers…everyone wants to hear those stories. Other parts were hard, boring, dangerous, or downright discouraging.

I can’t explain the dream by hitting the tourist highlights.

Cruising downhill in sunshine with a tailwind on a beautiful trail doesn’t require much conditioning or develop much character. Those aren’t the sorts of dreams to which God calls us.

There’s a saying among writers: nearly everyone likes having written, but few are willing to commit to the process of writing. Perhaps there’s an analogous question about a dream and your commitment to it. Want to start a business, with all the work and risk and grimy details? Or do you want the rewards of having started a business? Do you want to serve, or do you endure serving to get the feeling of having served?

Having done is where everyone pats you on the back. Nobody’s immune from being tempted by the glory of having done, but it’s the wrong reason to follow a dream.

Whatever the dream, do you seek the warm-fuzzy glow of having done it? Are you after some version of an “attaboy”? Will you be secretly disappointed if nobody notices? Is there some spot deep inside where you imagine God will be just a bit impressed once you’ve done this thing?

I absolutely like having done Rich’s Ride, but that’s not why I did it. Having done it earns me only the opportunity to learn from our efforts, leverage them, and continue toward God’s next task for Becky and me.

God doesn’t call us to be people who’ve done things so we can sit on the front porch and recount the glory days.

He invites us to do big things, to dream big dreams and follow them.

The St Louis Arch. 750 miles. Halfway done.

To be continued…