I hit a bird last week. I was in my car driving comfortably down the road when suddenly "Whap!" a bird crashed into my windshield. The sight and sound of it was quite upsetting. To me. Not to mention the effect it had on the bird. I've had 3 people tell me since, "There must have been something wrong with the bird. A bird in full possession of its abilities would not have flown into your car." I've yet to find any comfort in that statement. The fact remains: We collided on the road and hurt happened.
No matter how carefully we plot our life course, collisions are going to happen. Sometimes the fault will be ours: lack of planning, mistaken judgment, inattention to detail, misunderstanding of facts. Sometimes forces beyond our control will swoop directly into our well-planned paths and rock us with an unexpected and startling crash.
The roads we travel are shared roads. At any given moment, what's happening with someone else can affect the course of our own journey - and we affect the course of theirs. So what are we to do? As I have pondered this tonight, I've thought about how it is important to:
-Know which road is ours to travel.-Do our best to keep our wheels on a purposeful path, our eyes and ears focused and alert, our hearts engaged with kindness and care.-Understand that life is full of surprise and best-laid plans can change.-Give thanks for those who travel with us, beside us, before us, behind us, and even against us.-Most of all, be grateful for God's eternal steadfast presence. Life is going to twist, turn, crash, and go "whap" right in front of our face. God's love is constant. "He will watch over my coming and my going both now and forever more" Psalm 121.
Thanks be to God....as we travel down the road with one another.
