Stay In Your Lane

 The camper in the left lane is my target..... Perhaps because I grew up driving in N.Y., in some highly congested areas and respect the person behind me... who would give up his grandma at the moment, to be in front of me.

I get that. I want to be in front too, but sometimes it's not my turn.

Say what you will about N.Y. drivers, I think they are the best in the world. Maybe because we think alike. They understand this is a race. This ain't no Sunday drive and no one is camping in the left lane.....

Driving was always a contact sport for me.(I understand you are shaking your head) It was a race, a challenge, survival of the fittest. 

I loved winning.

Truth, I love winning.

I remember my first time driving out of Manhattan by myself. I was maybe 19 and driving up the West Side Highway on my way to the George Washington Bridge. My goal? Make it into New Jersey and I was golden. It was exhilarating but also terrifying. This was the West Side of Manhattan before The Donald got a hold of it. It resembled Harlem, with burnt out buildings and broken down cars along the side of the road. I knew that if I got a flat, that would be me.... actually me might never be seen again. 

I left my mom in the city, after having a nice Italian dinner. It was February and there was dirty snow clinging to the sidewalks where the sun's touch would never reach. It was dark by the time I left and I had to get from 8th Avenue to the West Side Highway, crisscrossing my way through construction areas and one way streets. If I made a wrong turn and got lost, I was on my own. No cell phone, no GPS, don't think I had a map. No one to ask, not here, not these folk hanging on the corner. 

I knew the way, where to go, but what if?

That was a place I did not let my mind go to. Not an option. 

I did fine and all went well. 

I am thankful I don't have to live my spiritual life like that. 

It's exhausting and lonely. 

No Lone Ranger mentality here. This life may be a race, but I am on a team, not a rogue runner, trying to stay hidden from the bumps in the road. 

I can tap into the One who made me each morning. I can witness His blessings, His protection, His guidance. Better than any GPS I have found. He will never tell me to drive off a cliff, because he thinks it's a gas station.... and I did ask for the nearest gas station.

I will choose the lane that He has provided for me. I will pass when He gives the go ahead. I will recognize that sometimes it is a Sunday drive, and I will enjoy my time on that drive.

I will wave others on and encourage them in their journey. I will not be envious because they are in front of me. They will be an example to me, they will help me on the path, filled with bumps and bad choices that promise to leave me at the wrong exit.

Let's enjoy this trip together and encourage one another on today.

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:

1 Peter 4:8-10

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11