Between The Lines

I’ll never forget the night I almost died.

I was driving across a lonely Wyoming highway. It was past midnight and I was making the 450-mile monthly trek back home from my Air National Guard weekend duty.

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It was dark. I was alone. No other cars were crazy enough to be out that late on a two-lane road. I had to stay awake. Occasionally I would see the orange glow of eyes along the road, tucked in the bushes, reminders that deer, antelope and elk were nearby.

I fiddled with the radio, settling in on a talk show from a distant place that bounced across the night sky. I opened the windows and adjusted the heat. Anything to stay awake.

My mind wandered. I was thinking about my home, nestled against the Tetons. I was thinking about what my work week held. I replayed conversations with coworkers and family members. The highlight reel of the day’s events began to play.

And then I was jolted awake.

My car had drifted off the road and the “rumble strip” began to shake my car – and me – violently. Those are the raised concrete ridges deliberately placed in the concrete to give drivers a final warning before the edge of the road.

Now alert and awake, I eased my car back between the white lines. I pulled off at the next safe place and took a nap. I was saved from myself, thanks to the rumble strips.

I can testify to the the well- placed rumble strips in my life, those warnings that keep me on the center of the road. These things jolt us back to reality, warning us that we are nearing the edge of safety.

Ignoring the obvious

Life is full of signs that are not to be missed. “Road out ahead,” “Shallow Water,” and “No Open Flames.” We can ignore the obvious signs, but we do so at our peril. Many have ignored the signs that scream at them, ignoring the warnings and the shaking of their being. They press on in supposed ignorance and end up in a ditch.

I’ve been in the ditch, a victim of my own stupidity.

Some who are reading this have heard warnings from their physicians as they patiently explain the effects of our causes. “Lose weight. Quit smoking. Quit drinking.” The doc is right. He is a rumble strip trying to keep you on the road.

What kinds of rumble strips does God put in our lives? What does the Holy Spirit use to keep us centered, to keep us from deadly crashes? God operates much the same way as the highway engineer. We hear his voice. “Love your children,” “Give up the bottle,” “Stay away from lust,” “Quit abusing your body,” and others. Yet we insist on playing chicken with the cosmos in a futile attempt to beat the system.

Have we become useless?

Many of us have become useless to God, useless to our employer, useless to our friends and family simply because we have ignored the rumble strips around us. The hard-headed, hard-hearted man or woman is destined for destruction. They hurt themselves and they hurt those who care the most for them.

How blessed we are who encounter the rumble strips, gentle reminders to get our lives back in balance. God reminds us that, in spite of all the complexities of life, that there is comfort and solace waiting, just beyond the nudge.

Please, share with a friend if you feel moved.
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Between the Lines