Short Cut? Maybe Not!

7/30/08

Recently I traveled about 700 miles to attend the wedding of a very dear friend. The trip should have taken around 11 1/2 hours however this time it took about 15. I ran into more than my share of accidents, but feel very blessed that I was not involved in one, though I came extremely close on more than one occasion. The trip was uneventful until 4 1/2 hours in I ran into a traffic jam caused by a severe accident ahead. We were dead stopped for over an hour when I had the bright idea to look at my trusted "Truckers Atlas" and try to find a route around the hold up. I was happy to see a little road two exits back the other way which would take me over to a Route Paralleling the interstate I was on. I ran up the shoulder for a 1/4 mile headed south and took the promising route. It looked really good at first, but then began to narrow, it twisted and turned and wound over some one lane weight restricted bridges. Then the yellow line disappeared, hmm I was starting to question myself, then suddenly the road turned to gravel. I thought about turning around but had already come about 8 miles and was certain this was the road on the map which clearly showed a connection to route 11. So I continued on with growing anxiety as the gravel road became steep with switch back curves and narrowed so much I feared to meet another car coming toward me. Then I saw a man in the road waving me down to stop. My eyes fell upon the problem and my heart sank. Up ahead was an eighteen wheeler whose unfortunate driver

had also seen this route and hoped to save some time by skirting the traffic. By the time he realized this road was not okay for big trucks there was no place for him to turn around so he kept going until now, he was stuck on a curve blocking the whole road, trailer was too long to make the sharp curve and the tractor slid in the gravel until it was hanging down over the edge of a steep bank. Some locals told me to go back the way I came and explained the directions for another route, which, by the way turned out to be another rabbit trail, anyway, I was fearful to go back out the way I came knowing the possibility that more trucks may have had the same idea, thankfully God put that caution into me and I crept back out very slowly and pulled over as far as could get in the ditch. Sure enough around the corner came a truck, had I not been over as far as I was and almost stopped, I feel certain I wouldn't be telling you about it. Too shorten a very long story let me say that many trucks and cars had the same idea and it ended badly for all of them, some much worse than others, after winding around on different roads for over 2 hours by the grace of God I found my way back to Interstate 81. The real kicker was that as I merged onto the freeway I did so right behind the truck I had been stuck behind in the traffic jam. I had wasted hours, many dollars of gasoline, and risked my life only to end up right where I would have been had I been patient in the first place.

This experience makes me think of the many times in my life when things have not gone as planned. I would wait and pray for awhile but, when God didn't act according to my time table I began to search for another way to realize my goals. I became impatient and pushy, running this way and that, expending energy and wasting time, risking health, meeting with failure until in exhaustion I prayed for God's guidance and graciously He led me back onto the right path where I found that all my efforts had left me further behind instead of ahead. I have been a long time in learning the lesson of patient dependence on God. I am only just now starting to understand that God's timing, and God's way is the only safe route. I am praying that God helps me to never forget these lessons and practice more patience and trust, for He knows what is best for me and will provide me that which I need at this time.

Trust God's leading my friends, He will never fail you.

Bonnie Morsette