"Can you ride tandem?"

 

Back in the 1970s PG Tips tea was advertised on TV using tea drinking chimpanzees. (Different times) If you aren't old enough to know, or if you want to go down memory lane, visit YouTube and you will find them. They were really memorable for example there was one of two removal men moving a piano. "Dad! Dad! Do you know the piano's on my foot?" "You hum it son and I'll play it". But perhaps the most famous was one of a chimp taking part in the Tour de France. 

Our chimp hero falls off his bike and lands at the feet of a female French chimp. Our British chimp says,in a strong Yorkshire accent "Avez vous cuppa?" (It became quite a catch phrase. So much so that during my first French lesson at school in 1975 when our teacher asked if anyone knew any French, our class pretty much in unison said "Avez vous cuppa") 

Back to the advert. The mademoiselle offers the intrepid British chimp a reviving cup of PG Tips. And he says to her at the end "Can you ride tandem?" 

You may be wondering where this blog is leading. But it is the tandem that brought the PG Tips chimps to mind. 

Earlier today I visited my own spiritual director. It's not appropriate to share our discussion here. But in the course of it we discussed how we walk with God and Jesús Christ often without knowing it. And our conversation reminded my director of the following modern parable which I found really helpful and which very much fits my own journey of faith. 

The author is "Unknown". If You know who the author is I'll be happy to credit them.

THE ROAD OF LIFE. 

At first I saw God as my observer, my Judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know if I merited heaven or hell when I died. He was out there, sort of like a President. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I really didn't know him.

 But later on, when I met Christ, it seemed like life was rather like a bicycle ride, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed it was Christ on the back, helping me pedal. And I don't know just when it was that He suggested we change places, but life has not been at all the same since!

 When I had control, I knew the way. It was rather boring actually –but predictable. It was mostly the shortest distance between two points.

 When He took the lead, He knew delightful "long cuts", up mountains and through rocky places at break-neck speeds, and it was all I could do to hang on! Even though it looked like madness, he said "pedal".

 But I worried and was anxious, and asked, "But where are you taking me?" He laughed but didn't answer - so I was forced to trust. It was then that I forgot my boring life and entered into the adventure. And when I'd say: "But I'm scared!” He just leant back and patted my hand.

 He took me to people with gifts I needed - gifts of healing, gifts of acceptance, gifts of joy. They gave me their gifts to take with me on he journey - His and mine - And we were off again.

 Then one day He said to me: "Give the gifts away" and I said, “What?” But He said: "They are extra baggage - too much weight - give them away." So I did. To the people we met, and I found in doing so, that in giving away I received more in return, but the burden of the weight somehow got lighter.

 You know, I didn't trust him at first, in control of my life. I just knew He'd wreck it. But He knows a lot of secrets about bike-riding. He knows how to make it lean into sharp corners, knows how to make it fly to shorten the scary passages. And so I have learned to shut up and pedal. Sometimes in the strangest of places. Now I am beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face, and most of all this person, who pedals on the seat in front of me.

 And when I am sure I just can't journey another foot further, He just smiles, turns back to me and says: "Pedal- Just pedal."

 Author Unknown

I didn't learn to ride a bike until my 30s. I'd tried as a child and never mastered it. When our son came along and started to learn to ride I thought I'd better learn too. I borrowed my wife's bike and taught myself in no time. And I always regretted not learning earlier. I never rode very far but for a while rode to and from work and then around town for pleasure. There is a joy of riding a bike.

I've never ridden a tandem. But if someone said "Can you ride tandem?" I'd answer "Yes"