Red bike from God

When I was about 8 years old, I lived with my mother and 3 sisters in a housing project.  The project was made up of duplex homes that were rented out based on your income level.  Since my Mom didn’t work and my dad didn’t pay the child support he was ordered to in the divorce hearing, the rent was as I remember $35. a month.  Wow! That is hard to believe in today’s economy.

One day, I was thinking about what I had been told about God and prayer in Sunday school and decided that I was going to ask God for a red bicycle.  I simply prayed and asked Him for a red bicycle and I think I said thank you but I can’t remember for sure.  The next day, my mom decided to take us on a pick-nick in the near by woods.  We ate lunch and started to play around in the woods near where the pick-nick blanket was spread.  I looked up and saw a new red bicycle leaning against a tree.  I was so happy that God had answered my prayer.  I retrieved the bike and showed it to my mom.  She said that it must belong to someone and that we would have to turn it into the police.  My older sister claimed the first ride on it and my mom said that I would have to take turns with my sisters, but that we could ride it until the police came to pick it up.  I just remember that I kept trying to talk my mom into letting me keep the bike that God gave me.

Once we got back home, my sister took her turn on the bike first.  She started to ride down the street in front of our house.  When she got to the end of the street, she discovered that she didn’t know how to operate the brakes.  She panicked and just kept on going straight until she hit the curb.  She bounced over the curb and kept going until she ran into a ditch.  She was thrown off the bike and hit her head on a rock.  My mom ran to get her and carried her back up the street to the house.  She had been knocked unconscious and was just beginning to regain consciousness and cry when my mom got her up to the front of our house.  She ended up getting stitches (I think about 5) to close up the wound and I think I remember my mom saying that she had a concussion.

When the accident happened I went and picked up the bike and walked it home.  Later that afternoon the police came and picked the red bicycle up.  My mom was naturally more concerned with my sister and even seemed angry at the bicycle for the harm that had come to my sister.  She insisted the bike had to go with the police in case someone claimed it from the police lost, found, and stolen property.

My mom didn’t know the protocol for property that was turned over to the police under the conditions of this situation so she didn’t do a “finder’s claim” after the allotted time.  I really don’t know if someone else claimed it or not but I don’t think that they did.  All I knew is that God gave me the red bicycle like I prayed for and I appreciated that, but I actually never got to ride it.  "What a let-down!"  But Wait! It isn't over until it's over.  It's 46 years later but I just found myself walking by one of my two red bicycles parked just out of the walkway in the  of the place I work and I remembered this incident.  I thought to my self, “It was kind of interesting that the Lord had made sure I did get my bike and even gave me a spare”  Wow!  Pretty COOL! "Ask, and you shall receive". (Author Bruce Archer, C.2007)

To submit your response or article click here: