Part 2: My Husband Wanted Me to be with Him

In our last blog, we shared Carolyn’s adventure of joining her husband to finish the 12,000 km (about 7,500 mile) Tour d’ Afrique. It truly is a bicycling adventure of a lifetime!

Perhaps this sounds like an inconceivable trip to you, because your husband’s adventures are more like kicking back in front of the TV to watch March Madness for a month, or hiking through the Grand Canyon, or playing 18 holes of golf on his favorite course. It doesn’t really matter what his passion is. What matters is what Carolyn realized: “My husband wanted me to be with him.”

As you read the second part of Carolyn’s Great Adventure, reflect on how you can be with your husband :

 By the time you are reading this blog, I shall have arrived in Africa with my bike and all of my gear to join my husband Doug in cycling the last 2,000 miles of the Tour d’Afrique (a course running from Cairo to Cape Town). We’ll enjoy three rest days together before getting on our bikes on Saturday, April 11, 2015. The plan is to finish on May 9, 2015. At this point, I’m excited, a bit nervous, but also ready to roll after all of these months of planning and training. It is indeed the adventure of our lives!

This venture is the fulfillment of a dream born in Doug’s mind in 2009 when he was on Safari. At this writing, he has already cycled approximately 5,000 miles, through seven countries: Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, and Zambia. It has been a challenge–biking 60 to 100 miles per day–on various types of roads and weather conditions with hills and mountains to climb. Although he has adapted well to camping, Doug is very appreciative of the hotel stays on rest days where he gets a hot shower, a bed, and privacy! He has met interesting people from all over the world, seen incredible sights, and experienced many local and welcoming cultures along the way.

When my husband decided to do the Tour d’Afrique, I’ll have to admit, I thought it was too big an undertaking. Then, I was again reminded that I married an adventurer! He likes to think and live outside the box. Although the cycling trip is Doug’s dream, it has become mine as well–on a smaller scale. He wanted me to join him for four and a half months; I negotiated for one month. Did I mention camping is involved?

Preparing for this trip has been a daunting task–truly bigger than the two of us–one that has drawn us together and drawn us into full reliance on the Lord. Being separated from Doug for three months has been very challenging; but the Lord has met me in my loneliness. Scripture has been very meaningful as I prepare myself spiritually and mentally as well as physically for the road ahead.

I am so grateful to be going through this life’s journey with my beloved husband and especially for this particular venture–returning to Africa to travel through four countries ‘in the saddle.’ Thanks to Doug’s persistence in asking and patience in waiting for me to join him on the bicycle, my eyes are being opened to a much bigger picture of the world we live in.

While I’m eager to see what God has planned for us in Africa and beyond, a challenge of this magnitude also carries with it concerns: to name a few–keeping up (thankfully there is a support vehicle), camping, and the unknowns. I WILL APPRECIATE YOUR PRAYERS for our safety and stamina, the grace to quickly adapt to my husband’s leading and to the group as a whole, and that the Lord would sustain me with a willing and godly attitude!

Throughout this adventure called married life, I am learning to trust the Lord more and more. One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and rely not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.

Carolyn