I remember when I was trying to teach one of my daughters to ride a bicycle. She was terrified that I would let go of the seat. What she didn’t know was that I was equally afraid. I didn’t want her to fall and get hurt. And, since I really wanted her to learn how to ride a bicycle, I didn’t want her to get so discouraged that she would quit trying. So we would go out to the front yard of our house and go back and forth while I was holding onto the seat. She peddled as fast as her little heart was beating. Then one day a girl who lived next door came over and asked her to ride bikes. She went outside, jumped on her bike, and off she went. It was amazing.
She rode because, for that brief moment, the practicing she had been doing had so much become a part of her that, as soon as her mind was on something else (keeping up with the other girl), she forgot her fear and rode alongside her friend.
My father taught me to ride in much the same way. He not only coached me in this as a son, but prepared me to ride in community(friendships) for which I was created. The challenges for me came in different forms and different settings often initiated by friends. The greater vision through my father's coaching developed over the years into building teams(community) and rebuilding after failure while at the same time learning how to be a team player. The intense struggle that began as a young boy still continues between the competitive self will and the Spirit's desire for building community(teams) revealing Someone greater than ourselves who is for us. Romans 8:31
Because of the many wounds from which we suffer in life , we often let our competitive nature overule community in conflict with others. Christ modeled truth with patience and compassion in conflict with others and He builds and rebuilds family through community as his body, the church. Jeremiah 31:4
In any particular occasion whether in business, family, or friendships, our challenge is to not go it alone. In community, both the offensive and defensive teams are on the field at the same time. Deuteronomy 31:8
Pushing the pedal to the metal must not cloud over that iron sharpens iron.