Written by: Jessica McClain
I have been a part of FCBA in some capacity for four years now- in 2015 and 2016 as a media intern, and as full-time FCBA staff since then. I have seen blissfully easy days of 16 miles (seriously- in 2015 we had a day that was only 16 miles long for some reason) and gruelingly difficult days over mountain passes, through storms, and in sweltering heat. And yet, through all of those days in all of their diversity, we always have such a need for love to propel us through the challenge that FCBA presents.
I know that like past FCBAs, this ride will have hard days and easy days alike. Some days, love will be easier than others. On the days that all is going smoothly, love will flow out of me like a river, drenching everyone around me. And on the harder days, the days where the road just seems too long, the challenges seem too plenty, and the personalities seem too different, that love may flow a little slower. But the challenge in all of that, the challenge that Christ issued all of us, is for that slow, difficult love to be just as wildly potent, intoxicating, and inspiring as its free-flowing twin.
So what can I focus on this year to keep that love in my every action? I can continue to show up in love, to greet people with love, to organize our ride with love, to walk into churches with love, to tackle challenges with love, and to learn about the 29 people around me with love.
If that love can flow out of me in all that I do this summer, then I will be honoring all of the traveling communities that FCBA has seen since 2008. Love can be the one thread that holds us all together, if we just let it.
