Flocks of geese have a familiar “V” pattern we all know. Each bird flies slightly above the bird in front of him, resulting in a reduction of wind resistance. This pattern allows them to navigate and when the lead goose gets tired, it drops out, takes another place in the formation and the head of the “V” becomes a fresh goose. Flying this way helps the geese conserve energy.
When you have nine cyclists riding into a fierce sustained head wind at 11-12 mph each day, you must work as a team, like a flock of geese. Pedaling more than 80 miles each day into the wind is grueling when alone and would rapidly tire even the most seasoned cyclist. I would quit…
You cannot see the wind, but its effects are real. When against you, it’s like an invisible hand crushing your momentum and when by yourself, your spirit. I wonder if this is what poverty is like. When your income level is so strained that your choices are severely limited. Do I fix the leaking roof or buy food? Do I pay the power bill or cut my medication in half for the month? My tire blows out and I miss work. These feel like a head wind killing any attempt to sustain much less get ahead. And when you are alone it can nearly crush you.
Riding in a pace line and taking on the wind as a cycling team framed a powerful metaphor for me. The longer the pace line, the more rested you could feel. Even alternating with 2-3 people made a massive difference. Partnering with families and helping them repair their homes is the proverbial pace line. It is the flock of geese working together to reach their destination.
In Ecclesiastes, Solomon writes that two is greater than one and a cord of three strands is not easily broken. Jesus says there where 2 or 3 are gathered in his name and request of him anything, it will be answered. There is great power in numbers and God never intended us to work or be alone. I could write a whole other piece on how our ideology of rugged individualism is actually killing us…but another time.
We rode as a pace line for three days against the wind strengthening as a team and a family with every pedal stroke. When helping people make repairs, the pace line is a combination of the family, volunteers, donors, ministry teams, and the Holy Spirit all working together. If we ever want to break cycles of poverty and help families and people rise above systemic financial limitations, we must cast off an expectation that they must do it alone and rescue themselves-to face the headwind alone. Instead, we form a pace line working together with each taking a “pull” and dropping to the back when our energy is spent. In that way, we always maintain our momentum. It may take us a little longer to get to our destination, but we will achieve it together and will grow stronger and closer as we do so. I know for this year, I grew closer to this team because of the challenges we faced together. May we continue to serve our neighbor this way and realize we are all in this together, two really is better than one.
Grace and peace,
lisa