0
0
Not today, my friend.
Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
-George Carlin
I live and drive in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex with over 7 million others. Most every weekday, I spend 30 minutes to an hour + navigating the 16 miles from home to the office. I have time to think. Earlier this week, I was thinking about the drive itself. Well, let’s back up. I was forced to think about it when I made an unannounced (no signal) lane change and nearly wiped out a blue-hair in a Corolla. She was not amused. Her little economy car was no match for my Ram. I apologized profusely via hand signals. The universal finger signal she shot back told me I was not forgiven. Then, I put both hands on the wheel, and thought about driving.
From that came these thoughts and they are not about driving.
Check your rearview mirror but don’t dwell there.
The older I get – and I keep getting older – the more I am tempted to dwell on the things behind me, the past. The halcyon days of my youth, when things seemed simpler. They weren’t really simpler, they just seemed so because I was a kid and it was my parents and their contemporaries navigating traffic and life for me.
It’s good to know what is behind you. Sometimes they may be a threat if you are not cognizant of them. Past mistakes may be riding your bumper and if you forget them, you may repeat them. Past victories may fade from view but don’t let them go. Be encouraged and inspired by them. You found your way then. You can do it again, and more efficiently because you have that prior success as a part of the navigation system.
Check your blind spot before you change lanes.
No matter how circumspect you are, there will always be a blind spot somewhere. We all have them. Don’t let the blind spot keep you from changing lanes when needed. You may need to pass some Sunday driver or let someone in a “big all-fired hurry”, as my dad would say, pass you. Or you may need to take an exit, hit a rest stop, or grab sustenance.
Don’t let the blind spot trap you in a lane you should abandon. The road may be one big loop. Remember Clark Griswald on the London traffic circle!
On the other hand, don’t change lanes for the sake of changing lanes or because you are impatient or compulsive.
A week or so ago there was this guy in a Mustang, whipping in and out of lanes, putting himself and the rest of us at risk with his impatience. I kept to the lane I was in, happy to let him put some distance between himself and me. The funny thing was that we were both taking the same exit. I was surprised to see him behind me as I exited. That is how lane-changing for lane-changing’s sake often goes. It gets you nowhere fast”¦or no faster anyway. And it may be disastrous.
Keep your eyes on the road
The first bit of advice Dad gave me when he put me behind the wheel on a country road (I will not say how old I was because I do not want you to think ill of him; just know it was a different time and place), was this: “Son, keep your eyes on the road.”
I was breaking the habit of looking at him whenever he said something. Experience – not the good kind – soon taught me how fast circumstances ahead can change. In a flash, you crash.
I was following a woman in traffic the other day. She was driving a shiny new Cadillac. Traffic was heavy but moving – mostly without her. She was driving a good 20 miles per hour slower than everyone else. Her speed was not steady and she weaved a time or two.
What do you think she was doing while driving? You get three guesses and the first two don’t count.
You got it. She was texting. As far as I know, she got by with it that morning. She won’t always. She keeps it up in that kind of traffic and sooner or later, someone will get hurt.
If you don’t watch where you’re going, how will you get there? How will you know when you arrive?
I am not talking about driving.
You are not all going to the same destination
Every morning, thousands of us on Highway 183 are headed in the same direction together. But, thank God, we are not all headed to my office. We each peel off here and there.
Kid says, “But, Dad, everyone else is doing it.”
Dad replies, “If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you?”
Well, the kids I grew up with probably would and a few of us did jump off the bridge into the muddy and dangerous Brazos. It was not because we were extra smart and making mature decisions.
I remember once following a friend in traffic. He knew the way to our destination. I did not. This was before Google Maps, auto navigation systems, and even Mapquest. This was a minute ago. I lost sight of my friend then found him, what I thought was him. It was another person in the same model and color car. That person was going home. I followed him there.
Be careful you are not misled by those you choose to follow. Ultimately, you are responsible for your direction.
I love the song “I and Love and You” by The Avett Brothers. This verse always gets me:
“¦ Dumbed down and numbed by time and age
Your dreams the catch, the world the cage
The highway sets the traveler’s stage
All exits look the same
Sometimes, they do. Every exit looks so much like the one before, you might be lulled into thinking it doesn’t matter which you take. And it doesn’t, unless, of course, you care where you end up.
The pressure to conform has never been higher than it is today, but it has always been high. Make no mistake. Going your own way, breaking from the crowd will never be easy. When you’re caught in traffic, it is easy to go with the flow.
Unless you care where you end up.
Jesus will not take the wheel
It is a pretty song and a wonderful sentiment but it will not happen. Jesus gave you the wheel. We named it “free will.” He will not take the wheel from you and force you to go the right way, obey the traffic laws, watch your blind spot, find your lane, or reach your destination.
Jesus is not an Uber driver.
He may clear the way for you. He may give you favorable conditions or put a storm in your path – a storm with a purpose because He does nothing without meaning.
He did leave you a MAP in the Gospels.
He will not take the wheel. That is on you. Free Will is a privilege and an inescapable responsibility.
I have always heard sermons about letting Jesus be the Pilot and you act as the co-pilot of your life. I may have even preached one or two sermons like that. But I think that is wrong. I don’t think He wants to be your pilot, nor will He be. He is the co-pilot, the one riding alongside, checking the gauges, giving guidance and support. It’s your hands on the wheel. Either you listen to his advice and directions or you don’t.
I do not mean to say Jesus won’t jump in and grab the wheel and save you from disaster. I am not ruling out miraculous divine intervention. I have experienced it and would not be here to tell you these things otherwise. I mean, He’s given you a Driver’s Ed course, the keys, and the map. You have to decide where to go with it.
The responsibility lies with the driver.
And that is the road of life and life on the road.
Safe travels.
Not ready to commit to the small monthly support of this writer but want to show support with a little one-time gift? Use the QR Code or the button below!
