Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Pastors’ Column – 04/13/15



It’s the best time of the year. Well, sort of.

Every fall, I bring my bike inside and put it on what’s called a fluid trainer. For the next five months, all my rides are inside – 20, 30, 50 miles, while staring at as many screens as I can.

Kelsey thinks it’s hilarious. I usually have two computers running different things, a tablet with music videos, and some sporting event on the big screen. If you’re counting, that’s four screens distracting me from the futility of pedaling my bike absolutely nowhere.

In the spring, I continuously watch the 10-day forecast, waiting for that first 50-degree day. I don’t mind biking in colder weather, but when I take my bike off the trainer, I don’t ever want to put it back on. I usually figure once we hit 50, there will be enough days in the 40s that I can make it work. You know, bike Monday when it’s 51 degrees, Wednesday when it’s 48, and Saturday when it’s 50.

Minnesota doesn’t always work this way, however. This year, we saw 70 a few weeks ago, and I took my bike off the trainer. I biked a couple times, and then we went back into the freezer.

My bike sat in the garage for over a week before I relented, carried it back up the stairs, and placed it on the trainer. As I rode my 25 miles, I watched a Timberwolves team fight for the worst record in the NBA, music videos of Taylor Swift breaking up with another unsuspecting guy, and the cast of “Top Gear” test-drive cars I’ll never be able to afford.

It amazes me that I can have four, five, even six screens in front of me all showing different things; from sports, to Facebook, to music videos, to texting with friends, to video games, and even videos of other people biking in exotic locations, and all I want to do is go outside, freeze my butt off, and watch a bunch of empty snow-covered fields go by.

Hundreds of billions of dollars are spent on entertainment every year, and nothing compares to what God does in a single empty field. It all fails in comparison.

This is the best time of year because, after another long winter, we are once again reminded that God’s creation is one of life. It’s also one of the most frustrating times of the year because we get a taste of what’s to come, and then we’re reminded of the futility of our world.

I truly believe Easter is a glimpse into what’s to come – an experience so surreal it makes everything we’ve experienced so far seem like a bunch of screens used to pass the time until when our relationship to God and one another will become complete.

Easter is the best time of year. Well, sort of.








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