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September 15, 2002
Dear Readers,
Welcome to our updated website! We’ve
made some changes to reflect the arrival of my newest book,
THIN AIR, which should be hitting bookstores near you any
minute now.
I’m especially excited about this book.
The early reviews are promising, and I’ve just had a
delightful letter from Karl Moore, the Washington State DOT
Head of Air Search and Rescue. He wrote,
“I arrived home today from another weekend of teaching Air
Search and Rescue and Mountain Survival at Wenatchee, and
found your new book. Before I started to unpack I began
reading. I could not put the book down until the end,
wishing for more.
It is outstanding, I loved it…
The story of Beth's tenacity was inspiring, and the sense of
forlorn isolation from Dennis reaches out from the pages.”
I
know that parents aren’t supposed to have favorite children,
but authors do have their favorite stories, and this is one of
mine. I hope you love it every bit as much as I do. Don’t
forget to check out the excerpt on the web sight.
In this newsletter, I wanted to share
a crazy story with you … Last fall, a friend of
mine gave me a challenge. “Let’s ride the Seattle to
Portland Bicycle Classic,” she said. I agreed, without
thinking seriously about the cost of my commitment. For
instance, at that time, I didn’t even know that this bike
ride spans two hundred miles in two days. I had no idea how
much training might be involved. I didn’t know that I would
ride with six thousand other riders. I’d never done any long
distance riding.
I simply said, “Sure, I love riding
my bike.”
After my first training ride with my
friend, I soaked myself in Tylenol and collapsed on the living
room couch. We’d only ridden twelve miles. My knees ached
worse than anything I might have imagined, and I thought I was
in pretty good shape! I considered bailing out.
I rode some more. Eventually, twelve
miles felt pretty good, and I pushed to twenty. After that
first twenty-mile ride, I went home and took a bath.
Afterward, I slept through the whole afternoon. I considered
quitting.
A few months later, I bought a new
lighter and more efficient bike. Then I went
riding with Cascade Bicycle club in Seattle. After thirty-five
miles, I went home and had the worst migraine I’ve ever had
in my life. I wanted to chop off my own head. I considered
quitting.
In the spring, some friends and I
rode our first fifty-mile ride. We’d never followed “Dan
Henry” marks on the road before. We got lost and managed to
miss twelve miles of the ride. We tried to make up the
distance at the end. I felt pretty good when I put my bike on
the rack of my car. An hour later, I needed a forklift to get
me out of the bathtub. I considered quitting.
Late in the spring I rode two long
rides back to back. On the second morning, I climbed onto my
bike seat and cried out in pain. The two “sit bones” that
contacted my seat screamed their objection. I nearly put the
bike back on the rack and went home. This was my fourth
bicycle seat; I’m still looking for the perfect fit. Once
again, I considered quitting.
But on July 14th, 2002 I crossed the
finish line in the Seattle to Portland bicycle classic. Even
as I crossed the bridge into Oregon, I didn’t know if I
could do it. But I kept at it. One mile after another, I kept
pedaling forward.
I’m just writing this to encourage
you. Perhaps you face an impossible task. Maybe you want to
lose weight. Or your marriage needs work. Perhaps you want to
finish your degree, or get another. Maybe you need a new job.
Whatever obstacle you face, remember
my bike race to Portland. Though we experienced frequent
setbacks we kept at it. Though we often considered quitting,
we kept going. Even when we didn’t know if we would finish,
we kept pedaling.
God is the God of the impossible. As
his child you have what it takes to finish your task – to
keep the pedals moving, or the classes going, or the
counseling appointments productive. You have his resources
living in you. Just don’t quit too soon.
For the rest of my life, I’ll
remember the unparalleled joy of crossing the finish line in
Portland. So go ahead, tackle the impossible!
And between tasks, read Thin Air.
It’s a great fall book. I can’t wait to hear what you
think!
Because of Grace,
Bette
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