Biking and the Bible -- A Story of Faith

Today I have the absolute delight to introduce you to one of my favorite people in the whole world, Theo Hale, my current “Guest Branch.”

I met Theo a couple years ago at our grandson’s basketball game in Kettering. As I observed Theo that day in the bleachers of the gym, I came to realize that this is a special young man. EVERYONE seemed to know and love Theo. And I could see why as I got to know him. Theo is friendly, kind, helpful, interested and interesting. There is never a boring conversation when you are talking with my friend Theo.

It didn’t take me long to discover that Theo loves bikes and trains and people. And he travels many miles by bike to spend time with people and even to view trains and other sights.

So today, Theo tells us about one of those many bike excursions and the interesting person he met along the way.

And so welcome, dear Theo! We are so excited to hear what the Lord has given you to share with us.

This past cycling season, I encountered a situation that solidified my faith and forever strengthened my relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

On June 13th, 2020, I completed a bicycle ride from my hometown of Kettering, through Dayton, Brookville, and Arcanum, then cycled east through Bradford to Covington, before riding south through West Milton, Englewood, Dayton, and home to Kettering. This particular day, my debit card was malfunctioning, likely due to the humidity that my card had endured throughout the series of muggy springtime bike rides. Unfortunately for me, I did not think to bring any cash with me in case my card would malfunction. I was on the edge of having to complete 90 miles without any food to eat.

As I traveled out of Arcanum, past the Bears Mill historic site, and into the small town of Gettysburg just off U.S. 36, I started to become quite hungry. I was riding down the main road in small-town Gettysburg, when I heard a man shout "Hello!" from the porch of a home alongside the road.

I slowed and replied, "Hello! How are you today?"

To which he replied, "Blessed. How about yourself?"

I stopped my bicycle to take a sip of water, which I was consuming sparingly in hopes of what remained lasting for the whole ride. "Overall, I'm fine, just a little hungry,” I answered the man.

I proceeded to tell the man, Dakota, how my debit card was malfunctioning due to the humidity. Dakota then introduced me to his young boys, Elijah and Ezekial, adding that he named them after two powerful Biblical figures. I greeted the little ones and gave them both a high-five.

I proceeded to tell Dakota of how I was introduced to our Lord Jesus by a family in my neighborhood back in Kettering (who happen to be the son and grandsons of the author of A Branch in the Vine). Dakota revealed to me how he found our Lord while serving a prison sentence in Indiana for a drug offense. He told me that he abused drugs so much as a teenager, he had to be revived twice by Narcan, a lifesaving medication that reverses the effects of a drug overdose. Eventually, he got caught in an undercover sting operation, and was sentenced to two years in an Indiana prison.

While incarcerated, Dakota realized that he needed to change his lifestyle, or else risk returning to drug abuse upon his release. He tried many treatment programs and counseling groups offered by the prison, but he discovered that his true path to rehabilitation was one with our Lord Jesus Christ! Dakota began attending Church services offered by the prison ministry, and eventually earned his way into a faith-based program that focused on Christianity as a method of rehabilitation.

Before he knew it, his two year sentence was over, and it was time to live out the remainder of his life as a reformed Christian man. Led by the Holy Spirit within him, Dakota not only permanently refrained from abusing drugs, but he also obtained a career as a welder, got married to a loving wife, and is currently raising his two little boys to love our Lord Jesus Christ! Touched by his story, I vowed to always trust my faith in our Lord, through thick and thin, especially when times are tough.

Before we parted ways, Dakota gifted me a bag of Doritos, two chocolate chip granola bars, and a blue Powerade to settle my hunger.

Matthew 25:35 states,
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you invited me in."

This is so very true in the context of my dilemma.

• I was hungry because my malfunctioning debit card would not allow me to purchase food, and Dakota gave me a bag of Doritos and two granola bars.

• I was thirsty because I was drinking water sparingly to make it last, and Dakota gave me a blue Powerade.

• And I was a stranger whom Dakota had never met before, yet he invited me into a conversation about our beloved Lord Jesus Christ!

I will not soon forget my brief interaction with my newfound brother-in-Christ, Dakota! Each time I bicycle through the small town of Gettysburg, I am sure to reminiscence on the memory of my exchange with Dakota, and furthermore reaffirm my relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!