March 6, 2026 / 0 comments

Bicycle – with a little help

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

  • Galatians 6:9

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

  • Hebrews 10:36

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

  • Hebrews 12:1-2

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

  • Jeremiah 29:11

The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

  • Psalm 121:7-8

The New Boilerplate

My wife filled a small book with “Angel” on the cover.  It was hidden with a box of crafting things.  On 18 July 2025, I thought I had posted the last of these.  But this little angel book held a prayer, followed by 71 quotes.  So, the “with a little help” series is back in business for a while.  And it will be fun for me.  She did not attribute any of the quotes.  The first quote was from James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the USA.  The next one was disputed, with some thinking it originated with Teddy Roosevelt and others saying Fred Astaire.  After the prayer, these might be on the lighter side.

Her quote

“Getting older is like riding a bicycle, if you don’t keep pedaling, you’ll fall.”

  • My wife

The Discussion

Note: I credited this quote to my wife.  I think there is enough variance that this is hers.

“Life is like riding a bicycle: you don’t fall off unless you stop pedaling.”

  • Claude Pepper

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.”

  • Albert Einstein

The two quotes talk about life instead of getting older.  Claude Pepper talked about “stop pedaling”.  Einstein talked about “keep moving.”

All three quotes have the same idea.  The Scriptures look at the keep pedaling concept from two different ways.  We need to persevere.  Times will be hard, and we need to keep going.

But we must remember that God already has things figured out.

I am not God.  I do not always have things figured out.  I have studied a lot about creative writing, and one thing you need to avoid is one thing that I occasionally do.  You should never write yourself into a corner where there is no way out.  Unless you are writing fantasy or superhero adventures, when the hero is boxed into a corner and the calvary (literal or figurative) must come to the rescue, your audience might say that you can get away with that once, but next time leave the hero a backdoor.

But to tie this to the theme here, God has the situation in control.  He does not need a backdoor installed so that the hero can escape.  He has everything set up in advance.  Maybe this is the time that the hero does not make it.  But remember that if you are boxed into the corner and God takes you away to be with Him, there will be no more pain, no more suffering, no more tears.

This does not mean to purposefully put ourselves into danger.

Pray and ask God’s guidance.  Trust in Him.  Study the Bible.  Ask trusted Christian friends.  And going as a group and having backup is not a bad idea either.

And one thing that all these quotes did not speak of, when you have to stop, put your foot on solid ground.  Remember that Jesus is the Rock of our salvation.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory

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