I am a beginner triathlete, having participated in two such events so far. But even getting to this point takes a good amount of training.
One morning a few months ago, I had a minor accident on my bike. No big deal … blew out a tire and damaged the front brake assembly. It was very early and I didn’t want to wake anyone by calling for help, so I began pushing the bike toward home. Of course I can’t walk in my cycling shoes (with clips on the bottom), so I took them off. Before long, there was a hole in one sock and a blister forming. Off came the socks, but by the time I got to my house, four miles later, the bottom of my foot was in bad shape.
That night, as I was preparing for the next morning’s swim, I couldn’t find my goggles. I must have left them at the pool earlier in the week. It was too late to get to a store and buy new ones.
There I was … Unable to cycle, as my bike was in the shop. Unable to run, due to a huge blister. Unable to swim for lack of goggles. A triathlete who can’t do any of these is in a quandary.
A phrase in the Bible came to mind. It’s from what may be the most famous chapter in all scripture, the 23rd Psalm. And, since I learned this decades ago, I remembered it as written in the King James version: “He maketh me to lie down.”
In this situation, the emphasis, I realized, was on the second word – “He MAKETH me to lie down.” Sometimes God engineers circumstances so that we have no choice but to rest.
I skipped my workout and slept in.