Driving along, sometimes I am on a road with many stoplights. The red lights force me to stop and wait. If I’m in a hurry, it can be frustrating to stop. Once in a while, if the timing is just perfect, the lights can be mostly green and I don’t have to hit the brakes and stop.

At times the driving is an open highway. I can keep moving, but have to stay alert for hazards…and if the journey is long and I’m tired, I have to stay awake, not fall asleep at the wheel.

The sights can be different. I can pass vast country with farms, or the skyline of a major city. I drive both at night and day, and sometimes it can be hard to see the road at night. But– what I see depends on where I am in the journey.

Life is like this– a drive on the road. I may have to stop, or I might be on an open road for a bit. I may be going fast, or going slow, or somewhere in-between. I may have to stop and take a good look at the map and make sure I’m in heading the right direction.

While driving, I need to be aware and awake and watch the road signs and signals. Accidents may happen. I may get lost. Some billboards may point to appealing destinations. There is always a risk.

But no matter where I am, I am looking for a certain MERGE sign in front of me. The sign that tells me I’m on the right road, this is the Way… don’t follow my feelings and turn to the right, or to the left, or rely on my memory, or even well-meant advice. I have a little sticky note on the dashboard as a reminder: weigh the choices against the Map, the Map which points me to the way that merges His will with my own wayward one.

This is, very simply, the road I travel.

And the hallmark of this journey? Grace. I see it. Everywhere. Grace, poured out on me like rain, daily, as I travel.

I want to do more than just wave at people who are also traveling this Way. I’d like to stop at the next rest stop and talk over coffee with a few fellow travelers. We see some things we need to discuss.

“Let’s talk about this road map. What do you think about…”
“Grace– you saw it, too?”
“How did you deal with that accident a while back?”
“How did I stop and fix this broken vehicle?”
“How can we help people who are lost in the wilderness over there?

And so on….

When we get back in our cars again, we can still “talk”– we’ve got phones, e-mails, blogs, twitter, etc. But– we’ll still plan to stop at the rest area for coffee and talk again. We sing and worship together. We plan to stop regularly for this on the Way.

I’m terribly glad to know that I’m not traveling alone. The road is a hard one.

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Sharing with Peter Pollock at the Blog Carnival, with the prompt “Road”.