I was just trying to pass on the left

Sometimes God seems to be playing a game of chess and I am a pawn in His game. What I mean by this is not that God is sitting up in heaven moving people carelessly about for fun but rather there are definitely moments where I am compelled to go somewhere or do something and looking back afterwards, all I can think is God was moving me around in order to do something that only He really knows about. Probably I'm not the only one who has felt this way, but if I am, I'm ok with it. I'm down with being God's pawn.

Before Erika made me start this blog, I would have these moments and not have any way to share them with the general public because a facebook status is too short. But that was before last night. Subsequently, this issue has resolved itself in the past 24 hours due to my succumbing to Erika's literary demands and needs. And now I have a way to share my story of Monday night to all of my loyal fans (four and counting!) I owe it all to you, Erika. Thanks.

It started at work. About mid-afternoon I had this insatiable urge to ride my bike on the Poudre River Trail. You'll be glad to know that I decided to keep working until 5 even though it took a lot of willpower. But as soon as I got home, my bike was in my car and I was on my way to the trail.

In the parking lot, someone made fun of my bike for having a kickstand. This is completely irrelevant to the rest of the story, and I only share it because it just goes to show that while man may look on the outside (kickstands), God sees the heart (of the rider) and He doesn't care if a bike isn't cool because it has a kickstand. He had a plan for my kickstand bike. I hope that guy reads my blog. I forgive you for making fun of my bike.

Anyway, I started my ride and it was quite lovely. There was a carnage of dead grasshoppers strewing the path, so it felt a lot like hanging out in my house. I don't want to brag too much, but I am a model citizen when it comes to alerting pedestrians and other bike riders that I am about to run over them if they make any sudden moves to the left. I always call out "On your left!" before flying by them, like the wind through the trees (Emily, if you're reading this, that one's for you.)

About 10 minutes into my ride, I came across a young woman jogging and listening to music. I don't care if you have earplugs in and you're not going to hear me yell "On your left," I'm still going to yell it at you anyway just to be safe. So I did. I told her I was on her left.

Apparently, that is not what she wanted to hear because she threw her hands in the air and started crying and screaming obscenities at me, something along the lines of "Don't talk to me! Don't f...ing talk to me! Leave me the f... alone! I don't want you to talk to me." Wow. Ok. I was just trying to pass on the left.

Anyway, this is the part of the story where I became God's pawn. I kept riding because I know better than to try and talk rationally with someone who is irrationally screaming and crying at you for no good reason. Avid reader Jessie and I both have some experience with this kind of thing and we know that conversation will not go far nor go well and you may as well just not even bother having it.

Instead, I warned the next person I saw, a pedestrian headed her direction, to be careful because she was a little volatile. Then I rode over a bridge and got confused about which way to go and ended up on this little dirt path. One thing to know about me is that when I end up on little dirt paths that I don't know where they are headed, I usually just keep following them. It would be a disaster if I ever got lost in the woods.

But, since God was pawning me by now, this little dirt path dead-ended into a parking lot where there was a ranger. On a bike. Hmmm. That's convenient. Clever move, God. I told the ranger about said crazy girl and asked him if he would go check on her. He said he would, so I rode the little dirt path back to the main trail and kept going the opposite direction of the girl.

Then there was a fork in the path and I got confused AGAIN and ended up in a paved parking lot. It was starting to get dark so I decided to just turn around and head back to my car. Good thing I did, because I found the ranger riding back from looking for the girl. He hadn't found her and when I told him where she was, he realized he hadn't gone far enough. After I went into more detail about the encounter with her, he decided it was actually very important for him to continue looking for her to make sure she didn't hurt herself or anyone else.

I rode behind him for a little while but he was slow so I told him I was going to pass him. On the left. He did not shout obscenities at me, and I was grateful for that.

Sure enough, I saw the girl sitting on a bench close to where she decided I was her sworn enemy. She seemed not as distraught but I still wasn't comfortable stopping to talk to her without someone else there. And I knew Ranger Dave was on the way.

You might ask yourself, wow, how is Robin on such good terms with the Larimer County rangers? Well, it may not be common knowledge around these parts that I'm a Volunteer Ranger Assistant on the side. Sometimes I patrol and I get to wear a cool ranger vest and hat and nametag. I will tell you to put your dog back on its leash. Don't think I won't.

But even in this small detail, God clearly used it in his pawning scheme for the evening. Because of my VRA status, unlike you regular Fort Collins residents', I have ranger email addresses at my disposal and was able to check the next morning that Ranger Dave found the girl, helped her, made sure she wasn't a danger to herself or anyone else, and sent her on her way. It was good closure for me to see that God was looking out for this girl. I don't know what's going on in her life and I doubt I will ever see her again, but for whatever reason, there was a 20 minute period of time where God chose to directly involve me in her life through finding help, protecting other trail users from her, and praying for her as I rode the rest of the way back to my car. I can only assume that because of the great care God took in orchestrating things the way He did that He cares very much for this girl and the distress she's in is very important to His heart.

So if you find yourself on your bike this week and you need to pass someone on the left, would you pray for this girl while you are passing on the left? Pray for peace in her soul from whatever is wreaking havoc there right now. And be willing to let God use you as his pawn sometimes.

Erika's Field of Dreams

Everything and everyone has a birth story. Some are dramatic and scary and loud. Some are quiet, sweet, and could almost go unnoticed. But everything living is somehow born, and sometimes even non-living things are born, like this blog.

My friend Erika told me I should start a blog. I hate jumping on bandwagons and I sort of feel like blogging is the current cool bandwagon to jump on. I waited 8 years to read Blue Like Jazz (I just finished it last week, actually). I'm waiting another 5 years or so before I read The Shack. I was still on Myspace when everyone else was facebooking it up. I haven't been to the dentist in four years. I hate skim milk. And soy. I just started eating Sushi last summer. And I'm planning on getting my first smart phone sometime around 2032. So I'm already annoyed by this blog, but I love Erika and she promised to read it if I wrote it. Sort of like Field of Dreams. This is Erika's Field of Dreams.

I have built it; now she will come.