When Frustration Met Faith

Sometimes the road provides exactly what you need before you even know you’re going to need it.
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Back in 2017, while I was on my solo bicycle ride across America, I hit a wall in the small town of Eminence, Missouri. The day before the "wall" appeared, I had a chance meeting with a man named Wil and his family. They were incredibly gracious, inviting me to breakfast and seeing me off with Wil's email address. At the time, it felt like a nice gesture; 24 hours later, it became a lifeline.

The Breakdown
I noticed my back wheel felt "off." When I finally stopped to inspect it, I found a half-inch of side-to-side play in the wheel—a dangerous mechanical failure for the steep, winding downhills ahead. I spent the morning searching for solutions, but every door seemed to close. I was 95 miles from a mechanic, and in a town that small, that distance might as well have been a thousand miles.

The Decision to Move On
Out of options, I emailed Wil. Then, I waited.
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Three hours passed with no reply. I finally accepted that I was on my own and started the heavy process of breaking down my gear, taking the bags off the bike, and preparing to head to the highway to try and hitch a ride with a stranger.

The Nudge
Just as I was about to walk away, my phone rang. It was Wil.

What he told me gave me chills. Wil rarely looks at his email—maybe once every few weeks. But that afternoon, while talking to his wife, Kathryn, he felt a sudden, inexplicable "nudge." He told her, "I need to go check my email." When she questioned why, he followed the feeling. He saw my message and told her, "God is calling me to help Dan." 
​Wil drove 45 minutes to the campground to pick me up. We loaded my bike and gear into his truck, and he drove me 95 miles to the bike shop so I could get the repair I needed.

Finding Meaning in the Journey often requires us to run out of our own solutions so we can see the ones being provided for us. Sometimes the most important "spark" isn't the one that gets us moving—it's the one that reveals we aren't traveling alone.