Life in Tandem
Now that the snow is gone I’ve noticed some flowers have started to pop up, trees are beginning to bud, and the sidewalks and trails have begun teeming with activity. I’ve stepped away from my basement treadmill and am running outside now – it’s much more enjoyable running alongside nature than staring at the timer on my treadmill that seems to count slower with every step! My wife, Dawn, and I have started walking outside almost every day and just broke out the tandem bicycle. There, I said it – tandem! We didn’t know it at the time, but when we made the decision to buy a tandem bicycle a few years ago, our kids would decide that they would no longer ride bikes with us. They said they were “too embarrassed” and wouldn’t be seen anywhere near us – teenagers!
Our motivation for buying a tandem bike? I have the tendency to ride ahead of Dawn and then stop and wait for her to catch up – which got a little old for both of us. Now when we ride together, we have no other choice but to keep pace with each other. We have a lot more fun together and enjoy some really great conversations along the way. It’s not uncommon for us to get in a 10 – 15 mile bike ride on a Saturday morning in just over an hour.
When Dawn and I ride our tandem we go a lot faster and a lot farther than we could by ourselves because we pedal together; I challenged our four boys to a race, but they declined. When either of us gets a little tired, the other will pedal a little harder to get over the hump.
In times past, yokes were used to keep a pair of oxen together and to share the work load. When we “yoke” ourselves with another human being, we are literally saying, “I want to shoulder the load with you.” God created us as social beings who rely on the community of others for encouragement and support. Sound familiar? I speak with a lot of Care Pros and clients, and oftentimes when they describe their relationship it’s much the same. It’s a partnership, a team where working together makes everything go smoother. It’s all about “doing life together,” in tandem, you might say. Working together refreshes our spirit and gives us hope; it reminds us that someone is there to help us get over that steep hill and celebrate the victory when we are coasting downhill!
