One day, while driving down the road, just minding my own business, I went through this neighborhood to take a shortcut. As I was driving, I came upon one of the biggest speed bumps, aka sleeping policemen, that I have ever seen. In fact, here is a picture of it.
See...it says it! The Mother of all Speed Bumps!
Okay, so maybe it was just a little smaller than this one. But it felt like this one. Lets just say I hit this speed bump going a little faster than I should have been going. Sparks may have flown behind my wife’s van that I was driving. But I can’t really remember because of the trauma I inflicted on my head when I hit the ceiling of the van. Yes, my seat belt was on. After the cobwebs cleared and my blurred vision had returned to normal, I inspected my van and then looked at the speed bump in disbelief. It should have been labeled as a road hump, not speed bump. Speed bumps are designed to help drivers slow down on roads that speed limits should be observed. Usually these streets are in neighborhoods or parking lots and designed to keep drivers from going more than 25 mph. Why? It is totally for safety.
On the other hand, there are these little marvels of road nature that occur from time to time that are known as potholes. I believe that there are actually magnets in these little wonders of nature that are placed there by wheel alignment shops all over the world. They always seem to sneak up on you. And when you see a pothole, it is almost like a bug zapper light for the bug, I seem to be drawn to them. Especially if there is water in them. Potholes do nothing but damage. There is no awe or amazement after going through a pothole. It just frustrating! Now, every time I hit a pothole, I think of this…
<iframe width=”420″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/NjMUfIKktWU” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen>
So why am I writing about the different road conditions? Well, so many times in life, we can be traveling down the road and things seem to be clicking along pretty well and then we hit a speed bump or even worse, a pothole. When you hit one, it seems like there are many of them now that come to light in our life. There are times when we even question God by asking, What in the world did YOU let this happen for? I know a guy that had to go on blood pressure medication who was in his 20’s! Talk about a road hazard! It was an eye-opening speed bump of life. Without that speed bump, he would have never done the necessary things to get his health in order. What are the potholes in your life? Maybe you discover one and then after that discovery, it reveals more that are in the immediate future.
Jeremiah 29:11 says,
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Sometimes life takes you down roads that have speed bumps in order to slow you down. Maybe its to appreciate the things that you have or maybe its to see that there is more to life than just rolling down the road at break neck speed. Maybe it is time that we actually just slow down and take a look at the things that God has put in our lives before we hit those dreaded road humps. Spend time with our family, take your kids camping or fishing, ride a bike together, take your wife out on a date (yes, I need to do this…and soon!) or even just take a day to relax.
Sometimes life takes you down roads that are full of potholes. You hit the first one and it leads to another, then another, and so on. That is when the damage is done. Your emotions, confidence, life, health or finances have to go into the “shop” for repairs. Why? Because, just like a car, you are out of alignment. God didn’t intend for us to be out of alignment with any of these things or especially Him. In fact, Paul writes in Romans 8:28,
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
It is easy for us to get off the road He has prepared for us. Sometimes it is damaging if we stay on the road or travel too fast down the road we are on. But one thing I am sure of is this…we have to trust Him…with everything! It is easy to say, but harder to do. Will you trust God today?
Will you trust God?
What speed bumps are you facing in your life’s journey?
What potholes have you hit?
How can you help other people avoid the potholes you have hit?
What do you need to trust God with, specifically, today?
oneguyseyes 