Road Trip!

“Mom, he’s looking at me!” “Mom, she’s touching me!” “I have to go to the bathroom.” “How far is it now?” It’s summer! Time for family vacations, time for making life-long memories with the family. For me, this brings to mind memories that were trying, amusing, and poignant. We took a trip from Wisconsin to Mt. Rushmore one stiflingly hot August - very different from today’s travel. Our car had no air conditioning, no DVD player to amuse the kids, no CD/tape player to listen to music – we had a hot car and three rambunctious kids who didn’t really like to travel.

After 700 miles of fighting, ornery children, an overheated radiator somewhere in the Black Hills, and a dead car alternator, the chances of our ever taking another trip in the future with our sanity intact were quite dim. Reflecting on that trip now only evokes laughter, joy, and good memories of a family together in love. All the harrowing details have long been forgotten. Our grown-up kids now say, “Remember that road trip…..?” and everyone groans and smiles.

Life is a road trip. We coast along, calm, enjoying the scenery for a time, then comes a mountain where we “overheat” and have to stop and cool down, assess the damages and go on. And along the way we meet interesting people, have new experiences, learn lessons, and realize that God is our “Triple A” guide. He has planned our route very carefully. He knows the bumps, He knows the level stretches, He knows the stops we need to make along the way.

We may decide at times to take the “scenic route,” straying at times from the road He has envisioned for us. He gives us that free will. And that may mean trouble. “Break downs” can occur, we need “replacement parts,” we need directions to help us get back on the right highway. He always provides those directions if we are not too proud to admit we have strayed. We once again ask His for guidance, forgiveness, for strength. We give Him thanks for leading us in the path that He originally planned for us and we listen to His direction.

We emerge each day knowing we have His blessings, we know His goodness and mercy, and we may be somewhat wiser for having taken “the road less traveled.”

“He’s looking at me!” Isn’t that great? He has us in His sight at all times – on the level stretches and climbing each hill. “He’s touching me!” How humbling to know that He touches us with His love every minute of every day.

“Road trip!” Life with Christ is the greatest traveling experience any one of us can have. May we always travel close to Him.

“Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God’s salvation.” Luke 3:5