After falling off a horse, a Team Samaritan’s Purse cyclist healed and rode 50 miles to raise money for water wells.
This week is National Bike to Work Week. In celebration, cyclists throughout the U.S. are riding to raise money for Children’s Heart Project. You can sign up here.
Debbie Currier lives on a 30-acre farm with her husband, Ernie. She works as an administrative assistant for an insurance company, and in her free time is a Team Samaritan’s Purse cyclist.
One of my favorite things to do as a little girl was ride my bicycle. My very first bicycle was homemade. It stood about two feet high, and the chain was a fan belt. I would ride it as fast as my little legs could go, and then the fan belt would fly off and so would I. I was too little to know how to put it back on, so my dad would have to do it for me. From there I graduated to a real bike with a real chain and have been riding ever since.
Whenever I see a bicycle, I want to be on it. So, in 2010, when the Lord started talking to me about cycling for Him, I was excited about the prospects. It was also at that time that He spoke to my heart about raising money to drill water wells.
Debbie wants to raise money for projects like this one in Uganda, where a community received a well with fresh, clean water.
I have some amazing friends and family who give generously, and it seems the more they give, the more I want to cycle. I know we’re doing what we can with what God has given us to help others.
In June of 2012, I fell off a horse. I remember thinking before I hit the ground, “This is really going to hurt,” but I had no idea just how true those words would be. Fortunately, my husband, Ernie, was in the pasture when it all happened and kept me still while we waited for the ambulance to come get me. I knew I was hurt, but I didn’t know how badly.
The doctor came to my room and told me that I had broken my back. Some of the first words out of my mouth were, “Will I be able to ride my bicycle?” He said he wasn’t sure, not for the reasons I was thinking but because his concern was whether or not I would walk out of the hospital.
The thought that I might be paralyzed never entered my mind. I’m so thankful God protected me from even going there. Surgery was done the next morning, and the Lord truly put me back together through the hands of the surgeon. I was able to walk out of the hospital.
Working Toward a Goal
Eighteen months after falling off a horse, Debbie was able to ride 50 miles in the Red Bud Classic.
In January 2014, 18 months after my accident, the Lord assured me it was time to start seriously training to ride and to pick up where I left off—cycling for Team Samaritan’s Purse! So I brought my bicycle inside, hooked it to my indoor trainer, and got to work.
I signed up for the Red Bud Classic in Oklahoma City and set a goal to be ready to participate on April 6. I entered to ride 50 miles, knowing full well if I didn’t make it to Jones, Okla., by 9:00 a.m., I would have to ride only 33 miles due to event rules.
Well, I made it to Jones by 8:20 a.m. and was well on my way to 50 miles. Ernie was right there with me, too. He drove the course, cheered me on, and testified to other riders of God’s great mercy upon my life. I cannot even begin to express in words the emotions that built up inside of me as I cycled.
When I crossed the finish line, I was so overcome with joy for all the Lord has done for me and continues to do for me that I couldn’t stop crying. God healed my back 18 months ago, and I’m not sure what all He healed in me when I crossed the finish line. But it doesn’t matter. What I do know is that I am blessed.
