The following is a writing from a couple of years ago. I will never forget this beautiful experience I had with J-Bird.
Quote Reflection
The opening quote describes “Jared, aka J-Bird,” a man whose path crossed mine during a bike ride last week.
Last Friday, the weather was perfect for a long bike ride on the beautiful Great Miami Riverway trail. My goal was 100 miles.
A 100-mile bike ride is cleansing for my soul.
I was long overdue for a soul cleansing.
Nothing transforms my inner self more effectively than exercising several hours in, through, and around nature.
At mile 93, I ran over something on the bike path, and at mile 93.1, my rear tire was flat.
Luckily, I was near an area with plenty of room to remove the wheel and replace the tube inside the tire.
About halfway into the repair, a gentleman on a mountain bike stopped to see if I needed any help. I told him I was good and thanked him.
He told me he would hang with me until I was up and running again, and I thanked him and told him it shouldn’t be long.
The man was probably my age, with a beard and an interesting aura about him that flipped my spirit into “interview mode.”
I am always intrigued by others’ stories. In fact, I’ve started a podcast, “Higher Leading,” that will feature interviews I do with people who lead their lives and/or others to the “beat of a higher calling.”
Back to my “interview” with Jared, aka J-Bird.
By this time, we are back on our bikes, riding together and making small talk as we head north to our final destination in Piqua.
J-Bird was a loner whose primary mode of transportation was his bike.
He had just ridden to Troy to pay rent for his apartment in Piqua.
He was a veteran who quite possibly struggled with PTSD.
He loved his mother dearly, who had passed away.
She was responsible for leading him to Jesus.
He asked me if I believed in Jesus, and I told him I did and tried my best to follow him.
Then the floodgates opened.
Over the next several minutes, he shared numerous stories from his life that made me wonder how he was still alive. While sharing the stories, he would say, “I am so blessed, I am so blessed.”
As we approach our final destination, I ask him where his constant feeling of being blessed comes from.
He looked at me with extreme confidence and said, “Jesus.” He said, “I learned long ago that if you had Jesus, there wasn’t much else you needed.”
As we closed our ride, we shook hands, and he told me his name was Jared, but his friends had nicknamed him J-Bird. I told him I was Jay and that my grandpa used to call me J-Bird.
He said, chuckling, “J-Bird, I very seldom talk to people the way I talked to you today because most people would think I’m crazy, but there was something about you I could trust.”
I looked at him and said, “Two J-Birds in love with the same Jesus.”
He nodded with enthusiastic agreement and rode on.
Most avid bike riders like me would have let a flat tire ruin their ride and maybe even their day.
Jesus, instead, had other plans for me. Plans to make me realize how blessed I am.
Philippians 4:11-13, “11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
P.E.A.C.E.
Jay@EagleLaunch.com
