"Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way- but that thou wouldst clear my way before me" (2 Nephi 4:33)

On my trike ride I had the most random, small thing happen that stopped me dead in my tracks. While pedaling through a sprinkler I heard a "Bing" sound and then my pedals stuck. I couldn't pedal forward or even roll them backwards. We stopped, my brother David and I, to check it out and see what the problem was. We saw that a part on my trike that keeps the chain tracking was catching and making it impossible to pedal. After fiddling around a bit and realizing that we couldn't fix it, I called my husband to come and pick me up. I told David to keep going and enjoy his ride. When Jeff (my awesome knight in shining armour) showed up he asked if I wanted him to check it out so I could keep riding. Well, I was done. I had only gone 12 miles in 2 hours...very frustrating. When we arrived home he looked at my trike. We tried a couple of things, and then on closer inspection, Jeff saw a pebble lodged in the part that tracks the chain. It was the pebble that was stopping my progress!

As I have thought about this I realize how often I let little pebbles impede my progress. Sometimes they end up being "stumbling blocks" and I just keep tripping over and over, probably because I don't want to admit they are a problem, they are only "pebbles" after all. There are times that I cry as Nephi, "O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robes of thy righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way- but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy" (2 Nephi 4:33).

Sometimes, we just need a different perspective to see the small pebble that is stopping our forward progression and growth. Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, "...let us inquire about our individual stumbling blocks, 'Lord, is it this?' We may have known the answer for a long time and may need resolve more than His response" (Consecrate Thy Performance). We may need the resolve to keep trying, keep seeking, keep pedaling, for He knows all (see Mosiah 4:9-10). I love how Elder Holland states this: "Our fundamental requirement is to have faith in Him and follow Him- always. When He bids us to walk in His way and by His light, it is because He has walked this way before us, and He has made it safe for our own travel here. He knows where the sharp stones and stumbling blocks lie hidden and where thorns and thistles are the most severe. He know where the path is perilous, and He knows which way to go when the road forks and nightfall comes" (He Hath Filled the Hungry with Good Things).

Once the small pebble was spotted and removed I can now pedal and ride again. It is such a great feeling to have this freedom. We are taught that if we "...shall hearken unto the Lamb of God ...then He shall manifest Himself unto [us] in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of [our] stumbling blocks-" (1 Nephi 14:1). When the stumbling blocks, or in some cases small pebbles, are removed we will make progress, we are free to move forward, we can keep riding and enjoy the Good Life. This I testify.