|
By GARY Presting Jr
I wasn ' t a motorcycle guy for most of my life . I was more of a car guy . I made a living working on them , racing them , building them , never would I give up my heated car in the winter or my A / C in the summer , for hot in the summer , and cold and wet in the fall for a motorcycle . But in 2014 , when my doctor said , you need to stop road racing , I bought a 1982 Honda Silverwing and began to ride . I found the local Christian Motorcyclists Association from the website and visited a breakfast ride with a friend . It was awesome ! I enjoyed that experience so much ; I told my wife about these people and told her she needed to come with me . " On the motorcycle ?" she asked . " Yes , on the motorcycle ," I said . She came , and she liked it and the people , so we joined CMA in 2015 . We bought a bigger motorcycle , went on bigger and longer rides , and before long , I became chapter road captain . Five months later , I was asked to serve as chapter president . Then , in February 2020 , I was asked to be an Area Rep . This is a big task and honor , and we are enjoying serving CMA in this role .
In January of 2021 , while at our region ' s leadership meeting in Carson City , Nevada , I heard about CMA ' s School of Evangelism . When I learned the class size was only ten students , I thought they would never pick me . But , on July 1 , I got an email saying I was chosen to go to the school . After attending the Changing of the Colors Rally in
|
2020 , I had wanted to ride my motorcycle from Oregon to Iron Mountain , and now I was going to get the chance !
I rode 2376 miles from my house to Iron Mountain , not my longest ride but my longest ride in one direction ; the total round trip was 5307 miles . On the trip , I saw so much . It was like two rides in one . When I left , everything was green , but the trees were already changing on the way back , and the colors were so beautiful . I even had a wild boar cross the road in front of me and another rider from the school . Also , in Utah , I got up close and personal to a Moose ; let me tell you , they are much bigger in real life than in the pictures !
The Lord brought such a gift into my life through CMA ' s School of Evangelism . First , I now have new brothers in Christ that I feel that I can count on for anything . I also learned so much more about CMA than I ever knew before . The training at the school also helped me work through some fears I had about carrying God ' s Word and will . I understood for the first time that I really wanted to carry His message and pray for others , and the only thing stopping me was my fear .
CMA ' s School of Evangelism really changed me . I can feel it , and my wife can see it too . It should be called " getting to know who you are in God ' s word " because this is what it did for me . All of my life , I have wanted to be somebody . I found out I already am ! I am a son of God , the highest of all , and He will keep
|
me safe . I now know that I also have the Holy Spirit with me , and I ' m learning to better hear His voice .
All this being said , I think about the plan , not my plan , but God ' s plan at work in my life . God moved me away from cars to motorcycling . I rode that Goldwing 78 thousand miles , and I used to not do motorcycles . I have ridden in hot days over 100 , cold days , rainy days and nights ; I have been so cold that I was shaking so badly I thought my tires were square . And all of this started in my life at the very young age of 59 . If someone would have said God has a plan for you and it involves riding a motorcycle and spreading His Word , I would have said , " You ' re hearing voices , but it ' s not God !"
God has a plan for me . I am really excited to move forward and learn what His plan is . Over the past year , I have felt something stirring inside me , and I just wasn ' t sure what it was . Now I know what it is ; it is time to be a fisher of men and not just act the part . CMA
|