576 Miles. Seven Days. One Purpose.
In July 2004, I set out from Kansas City on a bicycle, headed for Chicago. I wanted to raise funds and awareness for literacy, and I hoped reaching The Oprah Winfrey Show would help more people hear that message.
Between me and that hope were 576 miles.
The ride took seven days. More than a hundred miles followed Missouri’s Katy Trail. The hills were harder than I had expected, and the journey tested my determination. My faith in the Lord helped me keep going.
When I finally reached my destination, Oprah was away. There would be no meeting.
I was disappointed. I had come a long way carrying the hope that her support could make a difference. But I had to remember why I had gotten on that bicycle.
I hadn’t ridden all those miles just to meet someone famous. I had ridden because the ability to read can change a person’s choices, confidence, and future.
That purpose was still there, even when the opportunity I wanted wasn’t.
The journey taught me to pursue a goal without making an idol of the outcome. Sometimes we become so focused on the door we hope will open that we forget the people we came to help.
I couldn’t control who would be there when I arrived. I could control whether I showed up for something I believed in.
10/18/2022
