My son is learning to ride a bike right now. Even though once we know how to do it, we never seem to forget, and wonder what was so hard, watching him learn reminds me that, like many skills, bike riding is not “installed at the factory” when we humans are made. (In fact, when it comes to humans, not much is “pre-installed!”) No, if we want to be able to ride a bike like and make it look like it “comes naturally,” it will only be because we’ve put in the practice to reach that point.

N.T. Wright talks about this idea of doing what “comes natural” in “After You Believe” in the context of spiritual growth. In short, if we simply think Christian virtue will “just happen,” we are probably misguided. No, just like balancing ourselves on a bike, we have to practice and make it “something we can do.” We have to “walk” before we can run as it were — including falling down along the way. We have to do the drills to produce consistency.

We have to put in the hours of practice so when the “critical moment” comes, and we don’t have time to think about the response, what comes out of us is what is already in us. In that moment, to those who witness it, it seems *natural*, but the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. We only got to that moment because we practiced — a lot!!

Wright’s example is Sully Sullenburger — the hero of the Hudson — who landed the plane so calmly in a crisis. Sully said, “I felt like all my training over the years had prepared me for this moment.” The contrast was the Captain of the Italian cruise ship, last year, who abandoned ship when things got difficult. What was “in him” also came out of him in a moment of crisis — and in this case, it wasn’t particularly pretty.

http://bigalscorner.blogspot.com/2012/01/crisis-reveals-captains-character.html

Beautiful song … and WELL done!

I hope I am not one who hurt you. If I did so, please forgive me and let me know how I can improve.

Your friend and brother,
Daniel

I love you.

Winn