In Rwanda, mototaxis are one of the more popular choices for getting from place to place. They’re cheap and they’re quick. The drawback: it’s just you and your driver cutting in and out of traffic in the country’s capital of Kigali. I’ve never ridden a motorcycle in my life so to say I was a little nervous was an understatement. But being a trooper, I stuffed my head in the helmet, climbed on the back, and started praying to the Lord. I was scared.
On the mototaxi trips I’ve had so far, I’ve learned a pretty interesting truth about myself. Riding on the back of a motorcycle is very much like my relationship with Jesus.
Mototaxis are terrifying. That’s just fact. You hop on to the back, without knowing fully whether or not you’ll make it where you’re hoping to go. You’re putting your blind trust in this man who not only speaks a different language than you but also has a completely different concept of what safe roadway procedure looks like.
Sometimes riding a mototaxi looks like white knuckling the little handle behind you praying to God that you don’t go flying off in the street or on the dirt road. It’s in those moments that my conversations with the Lord sound more like frantic begging as I hold my breath and try to look away from the street so I don’t have a heart attack.
But other times riding a mototaxi looks like having both hands on your thighs as you gaze over the city of Kigali, thanking God the whole time that He’s allowed you to see something so beautiful. The wind whipping through your hair and the smells of the city (good and bad) blend together to create something that feels like pure freedom. It’s nothing short of amazing.
When I started the Race, I was white knuckling my relationship with the Lord. I was too afraid to let go and have faith that He would provide everything I needed in its time. I stuck to praying the same prayers I’ve always leaned on and thought God could only speak to me one way. As much as I’d like to say I’ve completely stepped out of that, there are still days where I feel exhausted, I haven’t spent time with the Lord the way I should, and I fall back in to the same habits and routines expecting new results.
Most of the time now, I walk with the Lord in the same type of freedom I feel on the back of a motorcycle. I feel completely enraptured by the Holy Spirit and I smell the fragrance of the Lord in all that I do. I see the personal fruit of my labor. I have confidence in stepping in to new aspects of my walk with the Lord, whether that’s a new way of reading the Bible or a new type of prayer. I trust that He will provide what I search for.
If it’s been a few days since my last ride, I mount the motorcycle filled with anxiety and the first chunk of my trip is spent with a choke hold on the handle and fear in my heart. But by the time I get back on the motorcycle to go to our next destination, I am full of confidence and even find myself feeling relaxed at the rumble of the engine. Just like riding a mototaxi, the less time I spend with the Lord, the less trust I have in Him when I return to His side.
As the Race is deep in its final leg, I’m seeking to have more time of freedom and less of those white knuckle moments. I know that the Lord is good, I know that He provides, and I know that I can trust Him. Sometimes I just need a little reminder on the back of a moto.
All the love from Rwanda,
Katie Mere
