…So where are we? Before we get going, I need everyone to make an effort. If this bores you, you can go here. The good thing about calling it a “world-wide web” is that there’s a bunch of other places you can be. I hope you stay. This one's important to me.
It turns out the 25¢ question isn’t whether or not we were brought to this place in life. The question that earns the quarter is,
“Who’s going to be doing the driving?”
I can sit and ponder how I got here or I can chart my course for the rest of the trip. (What can I say? Descartes philosophized about wax and the mind and the body, I use metaphors of driving and getting your jollies squeezing toilet paper.)
If it were up to me, I would be in show business. Of course, if I had waited to be discovered, I would be sitting in a warehouse where the Fiesta Four used to sit. One thing for which I am certain is that if life is a roadtrip, it’s a winding one. That frightens some people. You’ve got to be ready for the turns. The bends can bring new challenges or force you to change gears. If you don’t pay attention you can get banged up.
If you don't keep your vision focused on the horizon, you can get sick. You’ve got to realize if you’re lost and be willing to make a change of direction. Some people prefer straight highways. But highways are long and boring. It’s tempting to just turn on cruise control and let it carry you. You can get hypnotized by the road and miss the trip all together. Have you ever spaced out on the freeway and when you rejoined reality you didn’t remember driving through certain areas. Maybe the part of the road you’re missing is college because you think you’re too old or too dumb to start (I was 33 and I couldn’t do math). Maybe you’re missing the chance of saying to someone, “I love you, too,” because you won’t humble yourself or make yourself vulnerable. I think in order to truly experience life, you’ve got to be the driver. I learned that late. That’s why I spent 4 years here. (I bet you thought the drive-in was the low point. That’s another blog for another time.)And the road winds until the very end. My father-in-law is coming up on the last curve. A final stretch of road his fading mind and broken body won’t allow him to take alone. The end of his journey will be a curve in the middle of ours. I think of everything he’s done in his life and how he chose to handle the curves that life brought him; the choice to serve our country through two wars; to raise a small girl whose father died and whose mother drank; to be a man of honor and integrity. I see the roads I have traveled. Some I regret. Some that carried a toll. I see the roads people I love have taken or are taking; some they will regret or that carry a cost. Then suddenly in the middle of all of this, as I started to focus on the road and not the destination, someone I love made a choice I never expected; a choice that reminds me that no man’s destiny is sealed until the journey’s end. People can take control of the wheel, get out of the spin; change their course. Gun it.
Most importantly, I know that I’m not on this road alone. I’ve got someone with me every leg of my journey. And He’s not riding on my dash board; He’s riding in my heart.
If this is way to philosophical for you or if the picture I've painted isn't clear, go here. Then drive back and see me next week.
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