Each of us, at some point in our lives, will have a knee bender.   We may not all literally fall to our knees to pray, but we will fall, somehow, when a tragic situation occurs.  Try as we may to get through that difficult situation alone, God is the only one that can lead us toward the path of truth and strength once again.  Matthew 19:26 tells us, “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”  I know this to be true.  I am confident that I would never have been able to get through my life lesson, the ride of my life, without my faith and trust in God.   But, regardless of the depth of our faith, not allowing a tragedy in our lives to define us is a challenging task.

• Have you ever had to face a challenge that shook your soul? 
• Do you need to understand how and why this happened to you and what are you going to do with this the rest of your life?
• Do you want to understand how to be still, quiet, listen and trust in God, knowing He has a plan for you no matter how challenging or tragic the situation?
• Would you like to begin how to learn to be grateful in a tragic situation and have gracitude? (my definition; having grace and gratitude in a challenging or tragic situation)

Understanding how your faith can guide you through all the bumps, blow outs, and wrong turns on your ride can help you to have a life filled with grace and love.  As you move forward, that grace and love can help you assist others along their rides as well.

Writing The Ride of Your Life has allowed me to compile years of personal journaling and to identify and develop my front wheel concept.  The book will be divided into chapters based on seven spokes of a bicycle wheel, and the chapters will include poignant journal entries that help to explain the concept of each spoke.  I will share how each of these concepts helped both my family, and me, to move beyond the tragic event that occurred in my life.  The reader will feel and understand my thoughts, pain and anguish during the years of my personal knee benders, and will learn about how I handled each step of the journey from shame, to humility and finally, to forgiveness.  Through relevant examples, my readers will learn that their faith in God is at the hub of their wheel, and that His lessons will help to prepare them for the beautiful circle, or wheel, of everlasting life. Readers will see through my writing that my journey wasn’t perfect.  I struggled and fell.  But God helped me back to my feet each and every time.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trails of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4

Tina E. Boyd is a member of the Catholic Speakers Organization, CatholicSpeakers.com.