And as I sat on the couch, my ankle still echoing in pain 13 days after my accident, I texted my Love and declared that I wanted to get on another bike.

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As you may well know from a few posts ago, King and I were in Nashville, Tennessee on Christmas Eve and we decided to be adventurous on our way to the National Museum of African American Music. King wanted us to use a scooter to travel the 0.5 miles, whereas I wanted to walk (because I love walking so much!). When he had paid through the little app thingy, he got on the scooter and zoomed around, showing me what the contraption could do. Meanwhile, I just stood there in the cold, praying that we would still opt to walk somehow. You see, despite my height of five feet and nine whole inches, I have zero hand-eye coordination ability. Somewhere some women’s basketball coach is shaking her head in utter despair and disbelief. I looked at that scooter and I immediately thought, “not today, Satan!”

I scanned the area and made a decision. I knew King wanted to be adventurous so I made a compromise- he could ride the scooter (better known as the death contraption), and I would ride a bike. Surely riding this little electric bike thingy was the same as riding those stationary bikes at the gym, right??? WRONG! As with my life, I struggled to balance myself and, as I wrote, nearly died peddling into oncoming traffic. But God! I am still alive and well, save the bruise that is still on my right ankle. When I fell off of the bike that day on that hill in Nashville, I thought for a moment that the bike and my fear had won. But the reality is, both of them had lost a battle, although no one had won the war.

…until today (Monday, January 6, 2025).

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It’s a snowy first Monday in the new year here in Maryland and many surrounding areas. A big storm front brought below freezing temperatures and inches of snow, calling to a halt schools and life as we know it. As a kid, I didn’t really love snow days because once all of my other siblings had moved out, it became my responsibility to shovel the snow and I hated it. Plus, the Baltimore City Public School System did not believe in calling off school back in the 90s and early 00s due to weather so snow always meant work to me. Yet today as I sat in my house watching random movies in between shoveling sessions, the pain in my ankle reminded me of some unfinished business. While the bike nor my fear had won on Christmas Eve, there was still a victory to be had and in order for me to claim it, I had to face the unavoidable and get back on a bike again.

King was busy working and unable to respond to my snow day text slurry but that did not stop me from texting him anyway. With my ankle throbbing I texted him that I wanted to try again… because if I did not, the bike and my fear would win. King, ever the competitor, could understand my desire to not quit and encouraged me in my mission. As I write this today, I’ll be honest and admit that a part of me is still a bit nervous- dare I say anxious- but every part of me knows that if I don’t get back on that bicycle, I will continue to let fear bind me and limit what God is able to do in my life.

Now let me be honest, in the time between my “today” (which is January 6th) and this release date (January 13th), I have not gotten on another bike yet. In fact, with the way January is looking schedule-wise, I may not get on a bike that isn’t stationary until February. Yet one thing that I can promise is that God has enormous plans for my life and succumbing to fear is just not a part of those plans. In many, many posts here I have shared about fear and how we cannot live as victims to it. Yet I have learned over these past eight years that when God has me circle back to a topic, it’s because He feels that I have not truly learned His intended message just yet. So here I am (and we are) back at fear again so that I (we) can see that 2025 is the year for us to release that domineering creature from our lives.

Winning the war against fear starts by recognizing our enemies and allies in battle. Understand that there are many mini/little battles that we fight and [hopefully] win every day and the present enemy may be different every single time. Today the battle may be a bike, tomorrow it may be starting something new. Or… today it may be utilizing a new technique at work, and tomorrow it may be starting over in your career. The enemy of our battles appears different but at the core, it’s the same fear just presenting itself differently in the moment.

And I am standing in God’s victory over it all.

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Beloved, today I am asking us both to stand on God’s word as written in Ephesians chapter 6. I am asking us to both stand girded in our armor so that we can continue to fight and win in this war against fear. For me, I have several battles that I must win in the quest towards winning that ultimate war and though it will not be easy, I rejoice in knowing that I am not alone.

God + me = the majority

Be blessed.