Cullies 2 Dullies
Cullies 2 Dullies was a journey, we, the Mixchangers embarked in April. Ps John spoke to us earlier in the year about completing a stage race with bicycles. At first the idea was to ride from Johannesburg to Capetown in a weeks time, however, Ps John helped us (saved us) from over shooting our capcitiy by exercising wisdom and settling on Cullies 2 Dullies. In essences, we were set out to ride as set amount of kilometers with bicycles from Cullinan to Dullstroom. The choice of distance was up to the individual to decide. I really wanted to finish the full distance, but with some guidance I was able to set a goal the still nudged me over and above my comfort-zone while still applying wisdom.
In preparation for this event we had to train for hours on hours. We would train Mondays through Thursdays and on Saturdays. In the beginning we started with an our training but later it progressed to two hours in the morning, from 6 to 8. This training really helped and the consistency of it is what really aided me in the end but it was super hard on my flesh. Normally I am a very disaplined person but this got to me. Many times as I was riding I would get really worked up and think the person could be a bit more compassionate or caring or have more words of affirmation and encouragement. Meanwhile nothing that was said was really out of line but I think I just needed to blame somebody for my physical suffering. Ridiculous how one’s mind messes with you.
In spite of all this I did learn an extremely valuable lesson. It was that consistency is key. Ps John said a powerful that really helped me. In a message a while ago he said that it does not matter that you get the car, but how you get the car. What I got from that is the result is only worth it when it is received by faith in God. One can so easily do all this by yourself and try so hard to accomplish a goal. With anything in life, if it was achieved by faith then it would be worth it and have value eternally.
Having said that, one might question why we did this. What a good question to ask. For me, I had to evaluate it for myself, “why am I doing this? Who am I doing this for?” So my simple answer was that God called me to be part of Mixchange and part of it is to do these kind of events, but actually the main reason I did this was because I have a desire in my heart to go to the maximum in every area of my life. In a message, Ps John explained holding onto your comfort zone will determine how far you can go into the maximum God has for you. So I had to lay down my comfort zone and fully trust God. I had to be obedient because I love God and I want all that He has for me, therefore, the consistency was required and I experienced maximum on the bike.
On the trip I really had a blast. It is truely amazing to see when the Apostle blesses something there is an anointing on it to do it. I really had amazing encounters with the Lord on this trip. A special encounter for me was that I experienced the presence of Holy Spirit all the time. I had such a blast. In His presence there is fullness of joy and in His joy is my strength. Obviously; there were challenging moments I remember on the second day I had a small breakfast and my energy levels were almost non-existent, but I relied on the strength of the Holy Spirit who is my helper and I was completely able to overcome all those hills by His great grace.
On the first day, there was a lot of emotion. Probably because of all of the anticipation. Anyways, it was decided that the first 30 kilometers batch A and B are going to be cycling together. The two groups cycle at different paces, henceforth, the fast guys were a bit bored and the slower guys a bit ‘pressured’ to push themseleves to ride faster. So obviously a gap formed. There was a plan to compensate for the anticipated gap and it was to put the stronger riders at the back and the slower ones at the front to set the pace. However, that did not last very long. I was placed at the back at first, before long two of the batch B riders were at the back falling behind. I decided that I was not going to race off to not fall behind aswell but I intended to be relational. What happened was by chatting to them it acted as a stimulus to get their minds off their burning legs and rather focus on what was being said. While doing this, I was reminded of something Ps John said in a message he said that we should not become so fixed on the revolution that the reason for the revolution is lost. In that moment I chose, not consciously at first, to not be so fixed on riding the best I can but to support others for us all to complete out goals. That we as a collective finish.
The second day of the trip was filled with more inclines and more intense uphills. I remember there was an incline that was about 5km long and it was nicknamed Nemesis Hill. I remember specifically on that hill my legs were burning; I was cycling at about a walking pace. It was such a good opportunity for me to dig deep into God and not rely on my own strength. Like David say in Psalm 27 I relied on God because He is the strength of my life.
In conclusion, my next goal would be to finish the whole distance for the outing. This time around I still finished 200km in two days. In hindsight, I would have liked to complete the whole distance, but I am pleased that I achieved my goal. I am believing God that next time, by the grace of God, my capacity will be there to finish the whole distance.