The Joy of Humanity: Reflections on RAGBRAI:

I just completed my third RAGBRAI. RAGBRAI again stands for Registers (as in Des Moines Register) annual great bike ride across Iowa. It was really fun, even when there were really hard moments in there as well.  I decided to do it alone this year, meaning I didn’t initially know anyone riding along beside me. In my first year, I knew a girl named Emily from my church growing up.  We shared a tent, and we rode together throughout the days, talking and making our stops together.  Then last year, Cole and I did it together.  There were a few days, such as when he rode with his guys for his bachelor party where I rode alone, but the majority of the time we did all the riding and taking breaks together.  

This year, I did join a team charter to help haul my suitcases as well as a group to camp with.  I joined the team knowing no one, but was able to gain a lot of experiences and meet a lot of new people. For one thing, I can now set up and tear down a tent by myself! I know that sounds like a little thing, but I didn’t camp much growing up, so I never really gained those skills before this week.  I also really learned to make some friends and acquaintances along the ride and with my team. As an only child, I have never really been afraid of doing things on my own, and meeting new people, but this was on a big new scale.  

One thing I always love about RAGBRAI is the joy of community and of humanity in general.  Yes, there are times you find someone who doesn’t enjoy having us bikers in their town, but so many people you meet along the route are so excited to see us bikers and are cheering us on, offering us beverages or snacks, having signs of encouragement, etc.  This is the biggest when entering the town where we end.  There were so many people out on the streets cheering, and video taping and offering treats and drinks.  I heard one guy say to his friend on the phone, “This is so cool!” This made me smile.  It is so cool to have thousands of people enjoy a week of biking and to have another thousands of people cheering those very bikers on.  

This is joy in humanity.  This is the joy in seeing other people’s successes and adventures.  This is joy in spending countless days with other people who have the same hobby as you.  This is joy in being outside in the heat, in the wind, and with the bugs and still finding ways to have patience and love for the same sport.  I love this joy of humanity, of people, about RAGBRAI.  It is in part, why I keep coming back year after year. 

There are also so many people showing hospitality.  There are so many churches who make meals for these riders, spending countless hours on  these meals for all the riders.  Then there were also those who were giving out water and lemonade on the side of the road.  While I didn’t use this in the past year, I know many people offer up their homes either for showers and restrooms or for full on staying over to these runners. 

Hebrews 13:1-2 says, “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”  This is a reminder of how we should show hospitality to everyone.  Everyone was designed and created by God and because they were created and made by God, we need to pretend we are honoring and loving God when we are around people.

The challenge for this week is to spend time finding joy in humanity.  This could be doing any hobbies many people love and getting to spend this time with others.  This could be going out for a long conversation with those who are around you.  This could even be starting a new conversation with someone new at a restaurant or in the grocery store line.  I bring up these everyday examples because it is hard to do these things in the everyday.  When we are just going about our chores, it is hard to stop and admire the people around us.  

This is not always easy.  It can be important to spend time in prayer to God for us to learn to love people.  It can take prayer and persistence to have more patience and respect for the people we encounter daily.  Sometimes we have to spend time in prayer to have eyes the Lord has for His people.