Spots on the road

I was on the highway this morning, very early. It was about 6am when I started out, heading to a meeting with my prayer partner at the Friendly's Restaurant in Williston. We meet at 6:30am so that I can get to work on time, and actually it allows him to stay in bed late. Most mornings he is up at 3:15am! Suffice it to say, I am not up that early.

In any case, as I passed Exit 14 heading south I was struggling to stay focused on my driving and wondering why I was on the road at such an hour. Suddenly, as I passed a grease spot on the highway, my eyes snapped open and I frantically reached for the heater controls to shut it off. The stench was nearly causing my eyes to water; I realized the grease spot in the road I had just passed over was in reality the hapless remains of a skunk. The effect on my focus was amazing. Everything in my path was now crystal clear.

As I finished my trip I was thinking about this incident and how it might relate to some things that we have been dealing with recently (preachers always think this way). It occured to me that in normal circumstances we just kind of cruise along the highway of our life. It's quiet, kind of boring and we are half asleep. Then something in life comes along that really just stinks, but the effect it has is that suddenly we are brought up short and the events are brought into a sharp focus. Sometimes it is an illness, sometimes a job loss, sometimes the loss of a loved one. Other times it is conflict with another person or group, perhaps not even our issue but a problem with someone close to us such as a child. But the rest of life is now in sharp relief.

The issue with this is eventually the stink wears away, we forget it and go back to what passes for normalcy, our placid, bored drive, until the next skunk shows up and wakes us from our stupor. The good news is that God knows where all those stinky points in our lives are and He is still in control. So trust in Him, and watch out for the skunks!

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." Psalm 28:7


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