The Boy on the Bike

He was on the greenbelt trail, riding his bike towards the local elementary school, pedaling with all his might, legs pumping, dark head down, brow furrowed with focus. But he looked up at me – 

me, running awkwardly because my hamstrings were tight, me, tightening my grip on the leash because The Boxer was contemplating a mad dash after a squirrel, me, trying to quiet the meaningless voices in my head --

He looked up at me in the middle of my physical and mental chaos and smiled – it lit up his face! – and he called out 

“Have a GREAT day!”

Because he was young, his joyful outburst surprised me. The young children on the greenbelt typically do not speak first, and I hadn’t greeted the boy because I was preoccupied watching The Boxer watch the squirrel. But I managed to scramble together an, “Ohthankyou. YOU have a great day too!”

But the truth is, the noisy voices in my head fell silent at the sight of those brown eyes, crinkling at the outside corners because of the smile, and in my mind I answered his “Have a great day” with

Thank you. I just did.

——————————

We live in a world that insists that “bigger is better—” and it’s true that sometimes big things happen in our lives and those things are wonderful — but God is a fan of little things, and

Sometimes 
God is
a boy 
on a bike 
calling out to you to have a great day.

 “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me?”
John 14:9