Life without a breakdown lane

It was dark out and the headlights seemed to come out of nowhere. They came at me like a meteor streaking from the sky. I didn't start shaking until after the eighteen wheeler went hurtling past me on the tiny two lane country road. At home it wouldn't have been such a big deal. I would have slowed down and pulled over onto the curb. Down here in Kentucky though, there are no breakdown lanes. All you have is the road and a ditch. There is no margin for error and the people drive like they are trying to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. I have no problem driving fast. It is the lack of any grace that gets me.

It made me think about the way some of us live life. We run hard and fast and always go as if there was a breakdown lane if we get into trouble . Unfortunately for us, too often we run so fast that we lose control and end up in the ditch, or in some sort of trouble. It's not a pretty scene when that happens. Maybe we need to slow down and pace ourselves. We can't control what others do, but we can rein in our own actions.

Thanksgiving allows us to do that for a day. We pause and get together with family and friends. We take a break from work and all the distractions and focus on the important things. I know the rush will start again the day after with some of us running down to the mall for crazy early bird specials. But as we enter this special time of year, take the time to slow down and check out what God is doing. Count your blessings and enjoy them. You only go down this road one and you don't want to spend it sitting in the ditch.

Cal