Nathan’s Blog – Page 2 – Moortown Baptist Church

Teaching a 3-year-old to ride a bike…and other reflections!

So last week I gave a little bit of insight into my life under lockdown – particularly my daily walks/jogs with Daisy as she is loving cycling. Last week I reflected briefly on one of the phrases I repeated over and over, “Stop looking backwards!” and today I want to pause for a moment on another.

Daddy is right here!

For the most part, Daisy is very confident on her bike – even yelling at me from time to time if she thinks I am getting involved when she doesn’t want me to. This is often when she wants to show me that she can do it on her own – so my meddling (in her eyes) simply removes some of her choice and some of her autonomy.

That said, she still wants to know I am there. When she thinks I am in some way a bit distant (usually a work email on my phone) or if I have fallen behind at all, she lets me know…in no uncertain terms, that she wants to see me or at least have confidence I am close. As such, I find myself frequently reminding her, gently that “Daddy is right here.”

I remember in all my days growing up in church, I knew God was a Father. Unfortunately, I often heard the message that God is ‘like a father’ – which simply is not true. God isn’t seeking to mimic – he is the perfect example. I also remember hearing him referred to as ‘Father’ – a term which I always thought was quite a distant naming – it didn’t seem that warm to me. I remember the first time I heard that the word Abba has a meaning close to ‘Daddy’ made me feel a little uncomfortable. To call God Daddy felt far too familiar and kind of strange.

I am now probably at a midpoint on this…I understand he is Daddy, but I rarely call him that…but that is something He and I can work on!

So why did a story of a bike ride suddenly take a sideways leap to the father-nature of God? Well, simply this…I really want you to hear the words today that ‘Daddy is right here!’ In the midst of the current uncertainty and new ways of living. As new rules are introduced. As a new path into a new future is slowly revealed. As the ongoing changes that COVID leaves on our lives come into focus. In good times. Bad times. Hot days and rainy. In panic and in calm. Alone or in a family. Throughout all of this, ‘Daddy is right here.’

Sometimes we might think God is distant or quiet. Sometimes we want to feel him closer than we currently do. We might even question where he is during hard times or strange times, but the simple truth is this…’Daddy is right here.’

As Matthew 28:20 reminds us, in the words of Jesus, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Teaching a 3-year-old to ride a bike…and other reflections!

Corona Virus and the subsequent lockdown have presented a number of challenges to me (like a lot of people)…but I have also gained some great new opportunities. Now that I am at home more, I am able to spend more time with the kids, including getting Daisy out on her bike – a now daily occurrence!

It was on our first outing that I noticed myself saying the same few things over and over:

“Stop looking backwards!”

“Look where you want to go!”

“Don’t look down!”

“Keep going!”

“You’re doing really well!”

“Daddy is right here!”

I have been pondering those phrases, in light of our current situation. It seems there is new perspective we need to find on almost everything: personal lives, work lives, church routines, ways of practising faith, family dynamics, friendship groups, support network…and toilet paper! As such, I’ll take one phrase at a time and share some thoughts. Just my thoughts. My musings and ponderings at such a unique time, which I hope will give you something to reflect on, be encouraged by, maybe even challenged to change.

Stop looking backwards!

I am sure you would agree that, for a 3-year old girl learning to ride a bike, this is pretty important! If you keep looking at where you have been with no focus on where you are going, you will almost inevitable crash! That isn’t to say we forget where we have been. For those of you who cycle, run or walk around Leeds you’ll know this – it isn’t flat! As such, when Daisy had made it to the top of hills, we might have a rest and pause. Take a momentary look back to see where we have been. To see where we have come from to give a great sense of achievement to where we are now. But at the top of those hills I didn’t then just let her start to roll backwards in the direction she was looking. We were in a new place. It had taken some effort to get there (with the occasional shove from Daddy!)

I can’t help but wonder if that is where people’s heads are at now. I hear people talk about ‘when we return to normal’ – and I wonder if we will…and do we want to…and do we need to…and is that what God is wanting from us? Perhaps, this is a season where we get to review what really matters and is of huge significance, and what was simply preference. Before we race back to where we were, let’s pause for a moment and consider.

What of the ‘old’ do we want to rush back to, and what can we leave?

What things were helping us walk with Jesus and what got in our way?

What helped bring new folk to the church to encounter God for the first time, and what was a blocker?

With joy and achievement and encouragement, we can pause and take a look back at where we have been. We can see our start point and our journey. But we aren’t going back there…and trying to move forward whilst only looking backwards will probably do just 1 thing…cause an injury!

So, this week, as you journey, I encourage you to (and pray that you will)…stop looking backwards!

Isaiah 43:19 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

Nathan Dring’s weekly blog, and the psychology behind teaching a three year old to ride a bike gets a second airing

In the first of his new, regular blogs Nathan Dring takes a sideways look at life under lockdown

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