Another day of driving behind me. Driving tends to make me cranky. I sit at the computer and can visualize all the annoying cars, trucks, bikers, and pedestrians that interrupted my trip today. This morning I came across many people going to work, like myself.
We cannot avoid people. The world's full of them. And if God intended on only one person to exist then not one of us would exist. Because, hello, we all came to be from - PEOPLE. (Duh.)
Most people who know me know I've got a bit of a problem with road etiquette.. ok, fine. RAGE. Are you happy now?? UGH. Yeah. I get a little angry behind the wheel. It's only because some drivers really shouldn't be driving!! I don't run people off the road or anything, but I do get frustrated a bit when I'm driving along at a decent pace and either A) I catch up to a driver who is going at about 5-10 under the speed limit.. I mean come on. That's just not fair. or B) a driver who has seen me coming and pulls out in front of me, then proceeds to go slower than I had liked. One thing you should know. If you have the guts to cut someone off that's close to the road you're pulling out of you better have the guts to take off speeding and leave them in the dust. Its not okay to cut a speeding car off and go slow. That's just asking for trouble. (a;lij r;aiejghareog) Whew.. this topic gets my blood boiling! Anyway...Both of those scenarios end with me having to adjust my speed to accommodate my new buddy driving in front of me. Yeah. This smile I got on my face is totally genuine.
I was going along fine! Getting to where I needed to go, and in great time! Then, blink and BAM there's a dump truck in front of me. Oh wait, that was me this morning. Added bonus? That dump truck was towing a gigantic excavator, so they couldn't possibly go any faster. Yup. I always end with the same destination. But if I have to adjust my time for this bozo it takes 10 minutes off my arrival time! By now there is smoke coming from my ears.. I'm sure of it. Maybe my eyes are red, and I might be screaming profanities that a good, pure heart shouldn't be screaming.. what's that Scripture? "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" ~Matthew 12:34NKJV .. eeek.. Those words and feelings are in my heart. Not good. Not good at all. And suddenly I find myself saying such things as.. "I hate people. I wish I didn't have to deal with them. If I were the only one in this world it would make life so much easier!! (or at least my commute)"
**Big thought: if you hate people, don't trust people, or don't want to be around them there ain't no way GOD will want you ministering to them. Because guess who you are ministering to? PEOPLE. And not the one's that are already aware of His love and mercy. Yeah, it's good to commune with fellow Christians, but Jesus Himself spent more time with the people all those "godly" men called sinners and unworthy. He calls us to the worst, the unruly, the alcoholics, the drug-addicts, the liars, the thieves, the cheats.. Those are who Christ ministered to.**
What does this have to do with driving? Maybe what I'm trying to say is that there are roughly 7 billion people here on this planet. To think that our own destination or commute is the only one that matters is idiotic. We all commute. We all have somewhere to go. And as we drive along in life there are roads that intersect, and there are stop signs, lights, crossroads, train crossings, forks in the road, back streets, highways, crosswalks, one-way streets, driveways, parking lot exits, and anything else you can think of. We all have a place to go. Have you ever stopped to realize we ALL are heading towards something, and wherever we're headed we have our own speeds, values, morals, beliefs and understandings? Just like I end up with someone in front of me, its just the way this world is. People populate this planet. People have places to go. Why is my destination more important than anyone elses?
God told me to slow down this morning. He told me that I need to relax and stop being so frantic about destinations here on earth. My first appointment isn't going anywhere. No matter who gets in front of me, it's going to be there. I need to start caring about others on the road. Stop stressing over the destination, start focusing on the road I'm on. I could be missing something, you know? I'm in such a hurry to get where I'm going, I'm missing the scenery. So with this dump truck puddling along at 25 mph I said, fine God. I'm sorry. Can you show me what I'm missing? And then there it was. It was a beautiful fall morning. Did you know that? There were kids at bus stops playing, waiting for the bus, moms sitting with them, waiting too.. the sun was peeking through the turning golden leaves.. I looked around and realized I'm missing life. I was so focused on the end-result I forgot that the point of living is living while your alive. Look around you. Are you hopping into your car going from destination to destination mad that your commute is messed up because of traffic? Check out the other drivers.. they all have stories. EVERY ONE OF THEM. They all have a life to live, they all are full of dreams, hopes, loss, sadness, trials, and stories to tell.
Life is beautiful. People are beautiful. Look past your destination. Roll down your window, and look around you. Stop focusing on yourself, look past your own destination. You know the way, you'll get there. Just open your eyes as you drive and see that there are 7 Billion stories going on, all the time. Every day. And you are only one of them.
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