The Long Line Of Cars

I was driving on a road that I take all the time.
It is a beautiful, tree lined road with many curves.
There is usually no traffic.
Anytime I happen to be behind a car, we keep moving.

This day was different.
This day, traveling on the road started out just like it had many times before.
Up ahead, I saw a line of cars.
Up ahead, I saw a flashing orange light that you sometimes see on top of a truck.

Just like that, the traffic stopped.
Just like that, a man in a neon jacket turned his sign from slow to stop.
We were stuck there.
We were at the mercy of the man in the neon jacket.

No cars were moving on my side of the road.
No cars were coming on the other side of the road.
I felt like I was in the children’s game where everyone freezes in ridiculous poses.
No one was going anywhere.

It’s funny what you learn about people when they are forced to wait.
I imagine some people take this opportunity to check their phones.
I imagine others playing imaginary drums on the steering wheel as they listen to music.
Some people are not very patient.

Some people in the line of cars refused to wait.
They made a u-turn and drove off in the other direction.
The rest of us waited.
I was hoping that an accident was not the cause of the delay up ahead.

After a very long time, cars began to come from the other direction.
I never saw so many cars.
I wondered how long the line of cars had been waiting.
I could see a glimpse of the long line of cars on my side of the road in my rear view mirror.

I could see the man in the neon jacket.
The sign still said stop in our direction.
I looked at the faces of the people as they drove past me.
They looked at me with a look that said, you will be here for a while.

There was no where to go.
I needed to continue on to my destination.
This was the only road that would take me there.
I made the best of the time.

I prayed.
I looked at woods that were next to me.
I saw the snow still in patches under many trees.
I saw many trees leaning on top of other trees; many large branches had fallen.

Finally, the man in the neon jacket turned the sign around.
It was wonderful to see the word, slow.
We all took that directive seriously, since none of us knew what was up ahead.
As I rounded a curve, I saw the tree trimming trucks.

I saw the men wearing large headphones, to protect their ears from the noise.
I saw men with chain saws cutting the branches that had fallen.
All of the debris was lining the roadway.
I was driving on the other side of the road with orange cones directing me.

With all of the snow and wind we have had, the trees have paid a price.
When the tree limbs fall, they often hit power lines.
When the trees hit the power lines, the power is temporarily off until the linemen restore it.
Even though the wait was quite long, these men were doing an important job.

There was no way any of us could have sped down this one lane road.
The way the cones were positioned, it forced us to proceed with caution.
For the sake of the men cutting the trees and branches, we needed to drive slowly.
Some were up in a cherry picker truck, high in the air.

I was grateful for them and the work that they do.
I was grateful that something seemingly insignificant can help keep the power on.
These men had families who probably worry about them when they do jobs like this.
That is why I always give a little thank you wave when I pass them.

I finished what I needed to do and had to drive home the way I came.
Two hours had passed.
I assumed the tree trimming trucks would be gone.
I was driving at the regular speed and then I saw it.

A long line of cars were up ahead.
Many men in neon jackets were in the road.
Like before, many people did not want to wait and made a u-turn.
Like before, the rest of us waited in line, wondering.

This time, the line of cars from the other direction did not start to come towards me.
This time my side of the road went first.
We all drove slowly past the men in the neon jackets.
We all drove slowly past the police car and past the emergency vehicles.

Then I saw it.
A car was up the embankment that I was looking at when I drove the other way.
The car was turned on its side.
Two people were standing on the side of the road near a policeman.

I wondered if the driver of this car was impatient and tried to make a u-turn.
I wondered if the driver drove quickly around the orange cones.
I wondered if the driver failed to negotiate the curve in the road there.
I wondered.

 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle. (Exodus 13:17,18)

God led His people on what seemed like a detour.
The shortest route was not wise in God’s eyes because He knew the fickle hearts of his people.
God led His people on the desert road towards the Red Sea.
The Red Sea in front of them seemed impossible to cross.

Nothing is impossible with God.
God’s detours always lead somewhere.
We may try to go another way, proceeding without caution, but it will catch up with us.
God’s way, even God’s detours, are best.

How else would God’s people have seen the miraculous parting of the Red Sea?
How else would God establish Moses as their leader, as he held the staff of God in his hand?
God was not with the Egyptians and they all drowned in the sea.
God was with His people and they crossed the sea on dry ground.

We are an impatient people; we do not like to wait.
We try to go our own way but often it ends badly.
Those bad decisions affect others as well.
Our lives touch so many other lives.

The overturned car was badly damaged, though the people seemed to be fine.
I never dreamed that a simple ride down a road I travel frequently could teach me so much.
God leads His people but His path is not always linear.
There are detours, stops, and starts.

However, God leads perfectly.
God will prune, and trim, and cut away the debris so that our Light will shine.
It is our job to accept the pruning and not try to take a shortcut.
Shortcuts never end well.

God’s way is best.