IMPACT

That moment you actually may have seen coming but can never truly brace yourself for.  BAM. (I could insert one of those horrid video clips of teens laughing and having a gay ole time packed  in a car until they are suddenly collided into head-on and everything goes black.  But I won't.)

 A few weeks ago I thought it would be a great idea to ride my bike the uphill/downhill route to our local library - about 8 miles round trip. The weather had taken a turn for the better, it seemed, as the sun was shining.  (NOTE TO SELF & all other Utah residents: equating sunshine to great biking weather is akin to saying "All is well in Zion!"  You are asking for divine correction.)  Always game for killing 2 birds with 1 stone (really, I love birds), I gloated at the thought of returning my daughter's library book that had a hold on it AND being so fortunate as to get a load of exercise in at the same time.  HEAVEN.

It was soon apparent to me that with the beautifully benign sunshine came some good old-fashioned Utah wind.

 "Put your hands in the air like ya just don't care!"

But I did. Care. It being a northerly wind gust it was obvious that my southern trip to the city center was going to be A DELIGHT.  No, I'm not afraid of a little resistance.  That's more bang for my buck- but I had done this before and it. was.  a.  drag.  Anyways, the ride there took a bit longer than I thought but it wasn't that bad.  Just made me look all that much more forward to the easy breezy ride home.  I had all sorts of Irish blessings coming to life for me, the most obvious and real to me at that moment was "may the wind be ever at your back."  And so on the ride home I was feeling very fortunate that the wind was indeed at my back.  Only the interesting thing is, is that when the wind is behind you you don't really realize what a boon it is to your progress. Until you stop to marvel at what obviously great shape you're in because the hill feels like nuthin' and stopping is harder than pedaling.  "Oh gee thanks little 45 mph wind gust.  Guess I can't rest on my cardiovascular laurels yet - sigh..."  It's crazy how you really may NOT notice a good thing when you have it.

So when I crested the top of the pass that claims you're at 4,567 feet (or some-such , I knew the best was yet to come as the rest of my journey home was downhill.  I rode on the road to avoid some horrendous potholes I knew were on the bike path and then as I was turning back onto the path I could feel I was going much much faster than I realized. I put on my brakes to slow down while simultaneously thinking " I should've worn my helmet," and then BAM.  One second I was on my seat and the next I was on the ground: sudden impact.  And yes I'd hit my head on the ground.  All I could do was just be there in that moment of impact and try to figure out what had just happened.  Time seemed to stand still.  I think I was in shock - I simply couldn't make sense of it.  My head, my right hand, my left knee and my braced shoulders had taken the impact, absorbed the shock of going from however fast I was going to ZERO.  That experience of going from carefree cruiser to heavy laden shock absorb-er is emblazoned in my memory.  I'll never ride the same way again.  I will now anticipate the skill and preparation time it takes to be aware of wind conditions, speed and subtle braking techniques.  I will not sacrifice my head for the convenience and freedom of letting the wind blow my hair and listening unencumbered to my tunes.

When I told my husband the title of this post he knew exactly what I was going to write about but also added a truth from a Book of Mormon prophet: "Wickedness never was happiness." (Alma 41:10).  What?  I wasn't being wicked and that's why I crashed.  Careless and stupid for not wearing a helmet, yes, but not rebelliously wicked.  I don't think very many people are really that wicked.  Just careless and ...inexperienced.  God cannot alter natural laws of cause and effect and we are here in mortality to learn and experience some of those laws.  And spiritual laws, if you can actually separate them from natural laws, are no different.  Neither we nor nature can alter the outcome of transgressing spiritual laws.  We can be ignorant and careless with them, even avoiding the effects for a season, but there WILL be moments of sudden IMPACT when it will be very obvious that all is not well.   I know we can trust God, our Creator.  He leads and guides our lives with wisdom, patience and loving kindness because He's been there.  He's also provided a way to heal and redirect us when we get hurt.  He gives us guidelines and boundaries (commandments and words of wisdom) to keep us and our families safe as we journey along this mortal road.  And He provided a Savior, capable of absorbing the impact of sin on billions of souls, to atone for the mistakes that we sometimes feel, and often do not, until many others are affected - or impacted.