Teaching a 3-year-old to ride a bike…and other reflections! Today Nathan’s blog looks at pathways and how they all lead us home

The weeks go by and the wheels keep turning. Alarmingly, my knee is starting to creak more as I run, leaning to one side, in order to be close enough to Daisy to catch her if she is about to fall – but far away enough so that she feels confident and like she is in control.

We have been on so many rides. So many routes. Roads. Paths. Where Daddy thought the paths should be… and even the occasional let’s-make-our-own-path paths! And I have come to realise this – the route doesn’t really matter at all.

Let me clarify that – we’re not heading for the inner ring road or the M606 – but for the most part, whether we turn left or right doesn’t matter a great deal.

And why is that?

Because from the moment we leave the house, we are heading home!

I know the roads, routes and geography well enough… so Daisy can choose if she wants to go left or right. She can tell me she has lots of energy or wants to go home. If she chops and changes her mind the entire journey (and she frequently does), it doesn’t matter at all because I know the way home… and as I said, from the moment we set off, we are heading home!

My Father-in-law loves a song by Jim Reeves that we used to sing at our previous church – This World is not my home! The lyrics go:

This world is not my home I’m just a passing through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore

Jim Reeves gets it – we are all heading home. From the moment we are born, we’re heading to an eternal home. As Christians, this is a journey alongside our heavenly Dad – and we can choose all sorts of lefts and rights. We can pick paths that look obvious or we can explore new places. We can go fast or slow – full of energy or shattered. Take turns that bring us nearer, or ones that take us further away. We can wobble, maybe even fall – but for those of us that know Jesus, the truth (simple and yet profound) is that through it all, we are heading home.

God is happy for us to pick our route – we will learn stuff and see stuff as we go, and he is with us no matter what. But we are ultimately heading home. Not to our bricks and mortar – but to him. We might be at the start of our journey, or nearing its end. We may know exactly where we are, or may have taken so many wrong turns we wonder if He is even still alongside us.

Here is the truth… again. When we know Jesus, every day is a day we are heading home. He is alongside us. He knows how to bring us to our final stop point… but LOVES journeying with us. He loves our conversation, our wide-eyed awe. He loves our dependence and encourages our freedom.

The ultimate Father, steps out with us on the ultimate adventure!

Daisy loves the bike rides – even when she has no idea where we are or where we are headed…  because she trusts that I am with her and, no matter what, will guide her home. Because I love her more than she knows. Because she is my child and I am her dad.

Proverbs 3:5-6

 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
    he’s the one who will keep you on track.

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