Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/695454
38 WheelsOfGrace.com June/July 2016 If you ride (even if you're a Chris an and/or a family man or woman) Sturgis is a must at least once in your life me. The following ar cle is an interes ng story from a friend's eyes that a ended Sturgis and can help you see what to expect if you are planning to a end the mother of all biker events. I had no idea what to expect. Nothing could prepare me for what turned out to be an amazing photo journal of God's love in mo on. For starters, the Sturgis rally is a mind-blowing feast for the senses. From the minute we arrived, full thro le was the background music on any street, from any campground, store, or restaurant. The endless parade of colors, sights and sounds trolling down Main Street was an obvious answer to the ques on; "Why would two li le California beach girls with out bikes, pack up and trek out 842 miles to a ny town in South Dakota, anyway?" I was not a biker at this point in any sense of the word. No, actually more like a poser, an outsider. And yet, here we were, clad in our best California style leather, cruising the streets in search of s mulus like so many others. Easy to spot, my skin wasn't weathered, nor my hair tangled and windblown, no shroud of dust and sweat, achieved only by a hard days travel, had se led into my skin. Quite clearly, it was designer hair spray and Estee Lauder perfume that introduced me from two feet away. 'What am I doing here? So out of the loop, how do I jus fy my outsider status through curiosity!' It started out innocent enough; it was fun when people asked to take photos with us every few minutes or so. What true blue Valley Girl doesn't love that? But, panic began to se le in when my travel partner found entertainment elsewhere and I suddenly found myself alone in a town of 750,000 bikers many of which were not looking to celebrate the Jesus in me. Eh, not so much. I began to witness evidence similar to a biker Mardi Gras party, which a er dark, appeared to me on the verge of what one might label a wild Spring Break. And I had placed myself smack dab I the middle of it. I was hurt, angry and confused at being abandoned for much of the week. Without a friend in town, and with so much partying all around, half of me wanted to throw cau on to the wind and dive into the fun club everyone else seemed to belong to. The other part of me wanted to retreat to isola on and just check out mentally altogether. The realiza on of shame and guilt set in; when I admi ed that I had been more interested in grabbing a ride, than being a good witness. I could feel the enemy knocking at my door, 'Hi there, I'm having a pity party, would you like to come?' I felt like Peter, once the cock had crowed. How could I be capable in my faith walk at this point, to succumb at the slightest trigger, and be able to s fle my true iden ty in Christ? In an instant with that thought, those words, that look! And I know be er, have I not been consecrated, sanc fied, redeemed and delivered? A er 20 years, you KNOW you have done the work. And yet, if you think you can't be deceived, then you already are! Contempla ng on this, I knew I had to allow for the healing of forgiveness, to clear my vision, and yet I was s ll feeling hurt, betrayed. By the 4th day, I knew Jesus did NOT want me on a bike that he didn't choose as a solu on. And apparently he didn't choose any. Everyday, I'd set it up, and angels would knock it down! You finally get a clue you know about un- explainable equipment failure, sudden thunderstorms, HAVE YOU BEEN TO STURGIS? HAVE YOU BEEN TO STURGIS?