A few weekends ago, on a family day trip to a JMU football game, we had stretches of stop-and-go traffic on Highway I-81. My hubby was driving. I was seated in the passenger seat, morning journal and reading material in hand, and my son was engrossed in a book in the backseat. The fall morning sunlight was dancing across the mountains, farmland, and foliage. We were making good time…and then we were stopped!
Anyone who knows this stretch of heavily used interstate highway knows the stress of sharing the road with the multitude of 18-wheelers and the frustration of being delayed because of disabled vehicles, crashes, or inclement weather.
What’s the reason we’re stopped? How long is this going to take? Oh, I hope everyone is alright!
I glanced up and went back to my reading… Minutes passed and I looked up again. This time I saw the transport truck in front of us was covered in clever branding. The signage read: “Are You Following Me?”
I giggled, was God trying to get my attention?
This is not a coincidence. A few days before my trip to Harrisonburg, Virginia, I was on the road to Annapolis, Maryland. I was on the road before morning rush hour, it was a bright, radiant autumn sunrise.
Nearly every time I am solo in the car I’ll pop on a podcast or an audiobook. It’s no surprise that I might have been listening to something rooted in faith and spirituality. :-) I can’t remember now what I was listening to but it caused me to laugh out loud!
And then I heard myself ask out loud, “God who is in the driver’s seat? Is it me, or is it you?”.
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Driving in the greater Washington DC metro area is challenging. It is fast-paced, congested, and unpredictable. It's like life! We get going a thousand miles an hour, rushing from moment to moment, changing lanes, juggling the radio, drinks and snacks, conversations, accidents, and detours.
But what if I slowed down long enough to ask:
- God, do you put me in the driver’s seat because you have faith in my abilities to handle whatever comes my way?
- God, are you asking me to sit in the passenger seat? Trusting the direction I am headed and the purpose of all this?
- God, are you telling me to take the back seat? Are you suggesting it’s the journey, not the destination? Maybe I should gaze out the window once in a while?
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Learning to drive takes years of experience. A parent or teacher usually guides us. If you are a parent who has taught or rode with a “new” driver you’ll remember expressing:
- BREAK!
- Use your blinkers!
- Watch your blindspots!
- You’re over the speed limit!
Faith is a lot like driving a car. We cannot control every detail of our journey, because sometimes we don’t know where the heck we’re going. You also cannot control the traffic, or the person who cut you off…but you can:
- Wear your seat belt. Life is bumpy, unchartered territory. Ask trusted friends and family to join you on your journey.
- Schedule regular tune-ups. Read, worship, exercise in nature, pray, meditate. Connect with the Divine, and take care of your spirit.
- Take the next EXIT. Life can be stressful, find a rest stop. Assess what you need for this leg of the trip.
- Back-Up/Reverse? It's ok, we all get lost sometimes.
- YIELD. Let others go ahead of you. We don't know what they are going through...
- Stay in your lane. Trust your instincts, follow your heart.
God's leading the way and will never let us run out of maps.
Welcome: To life’s sacred journey!
JJH