Wednesday 16 July 2014

Crashed Out

I believe that today's Tour de France stage winner will be something of a ghost story, in light of the story of Andrew Talansky today. Andrew Talansky was one of the top favourites for this years race and much like a lot of the other favourites, he has suffered crash after crash in the opening stages. The consequences of his crashes saw him falling behind the top riders in terms of time but today was the cherry on the cake for the young man. On today's stage he had a puncture and had to stop, after being 1 minute behind, he slowly started to drift to 6 minutes, then 8 minutes and then suddenly he stopped. Climbed off his bicycle and sat on the side of the road in tears. Can you relate? I know I certainly could. I had been there too, sometimes in life when it's just too much and when it's become too hard. The road bended and caught you off guard, it's hard and it hurts and it's okay to feel that pain. As Andy sat on the side of the road his team manager jumped out the car, pushed everyone back and started talking to him. It was minutes. Minutes on the side of the road and minutes against the clock that kept on rolling on. But then Andy climbed back on his bike and started peddling up the road, all on his own and while he was peddling, time confirmed that he was 20 minutes down on the main bunch and he needed to make it in 31 - 34 minutes to still be in the race.

As we watched the screen, tears streamed down Andy's face, it seemed as though the entire raced paused as we watched him out on the road alone, pushing on, riding hard amidst the tears, heart break and pain.
I heard commentator Greg Le Mond comment that people love this sort of thing, its the suffering and humanness that people like to see. I kind of feel that that is not what it is all about and not what people want to see. It was real and it was hard and all of us no matter where or who we are, we know pain in our lives, how deeply can we relate to this.
But unlike Andy, we pain where no one can see, we aren't on international television and making news headlines. We aren't live and on screen but often when we pain we are like Hagar, alone on the roadside with no one and we are paining in our tears. 


Perhaps you are there now, perhaps you have just crawled out of that place and you are feeling stronger - I know I have and I have learned that there is a Team Manager on our side with endless encouragement. He is the same person Sarah's servant Hagar met on the road side when her tears were her food and her sorrow was the bitter water she had to drink.



Genesis 16: 7 - 10, 13
The angel of YHWH found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered. Then the angel of YHWH told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”
 She gave this name to YHWH who spoke to her: “You are El-Roi (the God who sees me),” for she said,
“I have now seen the One who sees me!"
While Hagar was alone and crashed out in the midst of pain and despair, the angel of God who was none other then Yeshua (Jesus) Himself met with her. Knelt down towards her and saw in to her. He did not just see what she communicated, but He saw deep in to the places of her dreams. The place of sorrow and neglect, the hopelessness she held within because her life had not quite gone the way she had imagined. He acknowledged what no one had and that was her right to pain and the weight of her sorrow. He felt it I believe and He knelt down like the greatest Sport Manager ever and told her "I see you dear child, I know your tears (PSalm 56:8) I know and I am here telling you to go on, go on, get back up and keep going. Walk even while shedding those tears, you may feel like the clock is against you, like sorrow has stolen the years but you still can make - you just need to keep going. Today is hard, but tomorrow you will look back and be thankful that you finished the race, I am here and I am never going to leave you, keep going with your pain and in time, it's going to heal because I will heal it and carry it and bear it with you."
 
The final pictures of Andrew Talansky flashed before our eyes - 32 minutes 15 seconds. He made it by just over 1 minute. He is still in the race with no hope of winning the overall tour but with the knowing that he did not give up. People have learned something through his suffering and have taken something with them.
For you and me - we have the hope that we are never alone, never, not even now - not even with suffering or despair. Tears run down our faces and we can feel hopeless or in despair, but take courage dear child, you are never alone. God is on your side - just keep on going, even when you cannot believe or you cannot see, today will end, the finish line will come and tomorrow's life will be made whole in the light of yesterdays struggles. I pray that Father will spread His arms around you and give you strength for today struggles in the name of our Messiah and King Yeshua.

I’m having Coffee For Your Heart with my friend Holley Gerth

4 comments:

  1. We do not get much coverage of the tour in our area and with limited tv channels. I remember well watching it when I was younger though and being amazed at how quickly the riders normally recover from an accident.
    We are never, ever alone. Yep.
    Aliyah, I wanted to remind you today that the link-up over at Thee Angel Project is ready whenever you are!
    http://theeangelproject.wordpress.com/2014/07/20/where-two-or-three-are-gathered/
    Blessings on your time getting to know some new friends!

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  2. WOW.....Did I say WOW!. I can't believe no one commented on this post. It was insightful, wise and on point. You are an excellent writer. May God continually bless you and let the Watching God watch over you with joy. I'm visiting you from thee angel project and I richer for knowing you.

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  3. I don't follow the Tour de France so I didn't know any of this happened. How true. Often we are struggling and in despair but our brokenness isn't there for the whole world to see. We get to hide it. Thanks for the new perspective on this. Coming from Thee Angel Project group. I look forward to getting to know you.

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  4. yes. I have seen the one who sees me- what comfort there is in the fact that God sees us and KNOWS us-- even in our weakness, and loves us, still. That he suffers with us. That we don't ever hide anything from Him, and yet His gaze towards us in Christ is still one of mercy and compassion and GRACE.

    Weak and loved by God who sees :)

    Emily
    www.weakandloved.com

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