One of my childhood pleasures was riding my bike on Papaw’s farm. I loved speeding across the gravel driveways. One was on a hill that lead to his barn. I would pedal to the top and ride down it as fast as I could. Also, I flew off of small hills and jumped over little dips in the yard and fields. I was a master at bike riding. Or so I thought.
When I grew older, I was allowed to ride on the road. One day I pedaled to a neighbor’s house. Some of the kids wanted to go down a little country side road that was narrow and curvy. I had never ridden my bike on it because there were no other houses on it for almost a mile. Feeling safe with my friends, I agreed to go with them. A couple of us biked while the others jogged.
Finally, we came to where there were houses. At this point, the oldest one in our group had us come to stop. He suggested we get off our bikes and push them downhill. Not only were we on top of a hill, but at the bottom of it was a sharp right curve. It was like immediately going from due south to due west. Being the bike master that I was, I didn’t take kindly to his suggestion. I asked him why and he answered, “The hill is steeper than it looks and there’s some gravel in the curve. You’ll hit them and loose traction.”
Did I have the sense to listen? Nope. He had just insulted my bike riding abilities and I was going to show him just what I could do. “I can do it. I’m used to riding around Papaw’s place.” With that, I jumped onto my bike and started down the hill. Soon I picked up more speed than I was comfortable with. I realized he was right about the hills being so steep. I tried to slow down, but my bike skidded on the pavement. As I quickly neared the curve, I realized there wasn’t just some gravel; there was a lot of gravel. At that point, I knew there was no way I was going to avoid crashing my bike. As my mom liked to say, “Ain’t nothin’ left but the crying.”
As I rode into the gravel, my bike flew out from underneath me. Unfortunately, I still had as much momentum as the bike had, so I continued to travel through the rocks on my side as I slid across the pavement. Thank the Lord I decided to wear jeans that day. He knew what I would let my ego get the best of me. Anyway, after I came to a stop, my friends came running to me. “You, okay?” “You alright?” I popped right up and said, “I’m good. I’m good.” Actually, I was embarrassed and my left leg felt as if it was on fire. Yes, I was still hurt even though I was wearing jeans.
“A man’s pride shall bring him low.” Proverbs 29:23 (KJV)
Right then and there, I decided to watch it the next time my pride wanted to do the talking instead of my brain. Let’s be honest, that is something we all need to work on from time to time. If you doubt that, think of me and how it doesn’t get any lower than to eat rocks with your legs.
The next day at school, none of my neighbors said anything about my rock slide, that is until I saw my cousin Jimmy. He lived in that curve. In front of God and everybody, he boomed, “Hey, I saw you wipe out yesterday in the rocks!”
Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.