Tag: road trip

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This is Going To Be a Little Too Close!

Lookout! Take Evasive Action!

This past weekend was a 3-day weekend for us. The federal holiday meant our whole family had the day off, and we decided to go on a hike.

In the northern Virginia area, sometimes it seems like there are a million different ways to get somewhere. My family had been to this particular hiking area before, but I hadn’t. Between looking at the route ahead of time, then following two different sets of GPS directions and my wife’s memory of the last time she’d been there, we ended up going a route none of us had ever taken. It wasn’t bad, we enjoy taking the back roads when we’re not in a hurry, especially if it involves some country scenery…a nice change of pace from where we spend most of our time.

Well, this particular route took us on some small roads. They were all paved, thankfully, but some of them didn’t have any lines painted on them and were narrower than what we’re used to here in the suburbs. It was also the kind where you often couldn’t see too far ahead due to all the turns and/or hills. No problem. I grew up and learned to drive in an area like that.

As we were driving, we were going uphill in a curve. From out of nowhere, a bright yellow 18-wheeler that seemed even larger than normal came flying downhill from the opposite direction, and was very much in my lane. I swerved until I was practically scraping the hill on the passenger’s side, and by the grace of God, we dodged that bullet and lived to see another day. Just when the excitement from that experience died down, a deer decided to try to beat us across the road, and since it, too, came out of nowhere, our vehicle underwent more evasive maneuvers.

Now really, how relaxed do you think I was for the rest of that drive? It would have been nice to go for a laid back, enjoyable ride in the country, but there is a different set of hazards that come along with that activity. As the rest of the family was pointing out fun things along the drive that we don’t often get to see, it fell to me to ignore those things and focus on the responsibility that was more important at the time. I had to keep everyone in the vehicle safe by constantly scanning the road and the surrounding area as we drove along. Thankfully, we finally made it to where we were trying to go.

This life is full of distractions and other things that seem like they’re trying to get in the way of where you’re trying to go, especially if that destination involves pursuing the activities God’s called you to pursue. In that case you have responsibilities that are more important than the distractions you’ll pass along the way. Yes, it means there are things you’ll have to forego. It will cost you personally, and it will sap you of some of your time and energy.

That’s okay, even if it’s hard, because it will one day be worth it. It doesn’t mean God requires that you live a life of misery. (On the contrary, Christians are to live lives of joy.) It simply means that your calling is too important not to do, and if you’re going to succeed in accomplishing it, it means there are other things in your life that are not going to get done. Do your best to ensure the things that don’t get done are things that have no eternal value.

By way of example, I like watching a TV show to veg out as much as the next person, but there’s a difference between decompressing and binge-watching. If doing God’s work means you haven’t caught up on the latest season of whatever the latest hit show is, that’s gonna have to be okay. It doesn’t need to be TV, it’s anything that takes up more of your time than it ought to, or anything that you wouldn’t be devoting time to if you were fully engaged in the thing God’s assigned you to do.

You do that, and when you make it to the end, your prioritization will pay off…

…we made it where we were trying to go!

(As an aside, I was going to write on a different topic before these events happened. When God put two near-misses in our path, I started wondering why. Near as I can figure, it’s because someone reading this needs to hear about it. If so, God orchestrated events just right so we had some uncomfortable moments and sovereign protection so they could be shared. This post’s for you!)

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Road Trips are Less Fun When You’re the Only One Awake

While we’ve still got some Winter Olympics going on, here’s another tale from when my friend Jeremy and I went to check out the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

On the way out west we had plenty of time to get there, so we drove during the day and stopped at night to sleep at rest stops. On the way back east we were in a hurry to get the rental car turned back in and get back to school. To save time, our plan was to drive through the night.

On our last day in Utah we watched a cross-country skiing event and then left to start the trip east directly from there. Jeremy took the first shift driving, and drove most of the day. Still keyed up from our experiences so far, it dawned on me a little too late that I should be trying to catch some sleep while he was driving. I do okay when I have to get up early, but I don’t do real well when I have to stay up late. I think I tried catching a nap, but when there’s pressure to fall asleep, it makes it harder to do, so I don’t think I got any sleep to speak of.

When the time came for Jeremy to tag out, I got behind the wheel and started driving. I don’t remember if it was dark when I started, but if it wasn’t, it wasn’t long before night fell. Jeremy racked out in the back seat for awhile. Between the darkness, drone of the road noise, lack of conversation, and the cumulative excitement of the day (and past week plus), I was ready for some sleep and it got hard to stay awake and alert.

I’m not saying anyone should do this, but we had learned through experimentation that the max speed you could set the cruise control to was 82.5 mph. That speed sounds really fast, but it wasn’t egregious when the speed limit was 75. We regularly set it that fast, but slowed down when we saw cops off in the distance. It was great because out there, where there were big stretches of wide open road, cops with radar guns had nowhere to hide; you could often see for miles.

You can’t see them at night, though.

You know that point in sleepiness where your eyes are half-lidded and moving your eyeballs around seems like it takes too much effort? That’s where I was, when, at 82.5 mph, I blew past two cop cars parked on the median somewhere in Nebraska.

Well, the red and blue lights came on and started coming my way. That makes for an uncomfortable way to rouse someone from their slumber. “Hey dude, wake up. Um…we’re getting pulled over.”

If I had been half asleep 30 seconds ago, I was wide awake now.

I pulled over on the shoulder and waited while the officer ran our plates. Eventually he came alongside the passenger’s window, taking a peek inside with his flashlight. He probably didn’t know what to think as he saw a dude in a sleeping bag in the back seat, boxes of supplies and cold-weather gear scattered throughout the front and back seats, and skis and ski poles stuffed along the side of the car. We handed both of our licenses over and sat there waiting as he ran our names through his computer.

I don’t totally remember the sequence of events, but I ended up going to sit in the front passenger’s seat of his cruiser with him (no, not while wearing handcuffs). I told him a little about us, that we had driven across the country to go watch some of the Olympics, and now we were on our way back. It’s important to understand that the animosity toward cops that’s so prevalent today wasn’t the case back then. This was a mere five months after the events of 9/11, when police officers and other first responders were hailed as heroes. There was a much greater attitude of “we’re all in this together” among Americans. He asked me about some of the events (and big-name athletes) we’d seen and what else we had done while we were out there. I think we probably broke up a boring night shift for him.

He had clocked me driving at a speed that gave him leeway to decide whether to give me a ticket or to let me off with a warning. I think he kind of liked the idea of the adventure we were on, so he let me off with a warning, but he did recognize that I was a legitimate danger to myself and others on the road because of how tired I was. He stressed the importance of being alert and urged me to get somewhere safe and get some sleep…soon…then let us go. We stopped at the next exit, gassed up, and switched drivers. We made it back to school the following evening.

Nobody likes to see those flashing lights come on in their rear-view mirror. I’m not sure how long it took me to realize it, but getting stopped on this occasion quite possibly saved not only my life, but the life of the passenger in the back seat, and maybe others on the road that night. If I hadn’t been stopped, I probably would’ve fallen asleep at the wheel. I guess you could say that God threw a little hiccup in my plans, which ended up saving me from myself.

There are things that will happen in this life that you’ll gripe and grumble about as they’re happening, only for you to realize later that those were things to be grateful for. Live through enough of those events, and it helps you realize that you’re probably better off not grumbling about things that seem bad in the short term, because you don’t yet know how they tie into the bigger picture. God often makes you take the scenic route while you have the express lane in mind, and vice versa. We don’t see until after the fact that it was something we wouldn’t have chosen, but had unforeseen benefits.

The next time you get hit with something that seems like something to groan about, try holding off on the complaints for awhile. It might just be God’s way of saving you from yourself.

To all those officers out there, thank you for being willing to step into tense and uncertain situations on the public’s behalf every time you go to work. Additional thanks to those of you that have cut a little slack to people that just needed to be scared a little bit by the flashing lights of a police car.

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Let Someone Else Worry About That

Last week our family had the opportunity to travel for Christmas. On the way home from seeing relatives we drove through western and central Pennsylvania. Due to some poor planning on my part, our drive coincided with the first significant wintry storm of the season in that area.

Things weren’t real bad at first; it was mostly rain. After awhile though, the rain started sounding different. It wasn’t water hitting the windshield, it was wet ice, and it started accumulating on the road.

I guess the snow plows were enjoying the holiday

Before long it got bad enough that the tires periodically lost their grip on the pavement and the traction control light frequently flashed on the dashboard while the tires suddenly spun faster and the speedometer spiked. I slowed down, but we started passing lots of accidents where people had spun out or slipped off the road. When it was all said and done, my wife counted at least eight incidents. The local emergency responders got numerous calls, and on two occasions, we stopped for just-happened accidents and stayed with those involved until someone showed up. (In one, I slowed down because I saw a car up ahead on the left side of the road that had spun around and was facing traffic while a woman and her teenage daughter ran across the highway to get to safety; in the other a man and his dog slid off the road in a car, spun around, and ended up in a creek bed in a few inches of water.) It was a harrowing trip for sure, and by the time we got home, I was worn out from focusing so hard for so long.

This guy and his dog were fine, but they were probably stuck there for hours.

That night I wanted to use the day’s events as a teachable moment with my kids. They’ve seen car accidents on the side of the road as we’ve driven past them before, but I think this was the first time they really experienced a drive in rough conditions and saw the fear in peoples’ eyes after their day took an unexpected turn. I don’t think my kids have ever seen me so thankful to have completed a trip safely.

The next day my oldest daughter let me know that she had done some thinking. She was more appreciative of a safe trip, for sure, but she also let me know she realized that she trusted my driving so much that it never even occurred to her that things might not go according to plan. She’s been driving with me her whole life without any major issues, so she didn’t even consider the fact that we, ourselves, could get in an accident.

This was a little sobering for me. (Should I ever let her know I’m not a perfect driver, or should I let her figure that out on her own?) I don’t know if the kids were worried at all about the drive, or if they were, how much. At least one of them, though, didn’t sweat it, because “Dad’s on it.” She had no idea I was white-knuckle driving while she was able to be largely care-free, perfectly at peace knowing that the situation had my full attention.

Now, just so you know, I’m under no illusion that I’m immune from accidents even if I’m paying full attention and my vehicle is perfectly maintained at all times. (They’re called “accidents” for a reason.) It made me think, though, of how wonderful it is that we have Bible verses that encourage us to come to our Savior and give Him our worries.

This is a rough time of year for many folks, for any number of reasons. I want to encourage you to be completely open and honest with God about your worries. Are you anxious? Tell Him why. Do you have doubts about your faith? Let Him know. I don’t know how He’ll work in your life, but I know that solid relationships include openness and honesty.

I hope you had a great Christmas, that you’re excited that Christ came in the flesh to save you, and that you have a blessed New Year! See you in January!

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Back to Basics: God Can Use You

Since my last post my family and I got to travel to see some relatives we haven’t seen in a long time, and even met someone that joined the family since I last saw them. It was a trip that involved a lot of driving and covered hundreds of miles, but it was wonderful to celebrate some milestone birthdays with loved ones.

We piled into the minivan in Northern Virginia, and over the course of several days drove up to Connecticut and back. The kids have never been that far north before, and it was a great reunion full of laughs and new memories. We celebrated the birthdays of my twin aunt and uncle, along with my mom.

During the trip we attended my uncle’s long-time church. It’s always interesting to go somewhere new and hear a pastor you’re not accustomed to hearing. His message was titled “God Can Use You.”

Regular readers of this blog know that one of my main goals behind my posts is encouraging you to embrace the calling God has for your life, and use the talents and resources He’s made accessible to you so that you can bring glory to Him. Hearing this pastor’s message reminded me that some people struggle with believing that “God Can Use You.” If you wrestle with that notion, I want to spur you on today: He can do amazing things with your life through your obedience to Him.

Over the course of this trip, we spent a lot of time sitting in traffic. On multiple occasions accidents caused two lanes of traffic to merge down to one, other times spring construction led to delays and backups, and sometimes the rain made us all slow down. My passengers were very patient and hung in there like champs. During one of our times stuck in a crawl, I looked over to my left and saw a bright orange Lamborghini creeping along in the traffic going the opposite direction.

Can you imagine? What a waste that was! Here’s a machine that’s built for speed, for curvy roads, for all-around high performance. Yet here it was, far from fulfilling its potential. It’s a perfect illustration of what life is like when you’re a Christian that doesn’t buy into the idea that God can use you to do something big. It’s untapped capability.

Maybe it’s something you’ve felt before, but fought. Maybe you know what God would have you do, but you fear the unknown. Don’t give in to the idea that you’re not (insert your favorite adjective) enough for God to use your life to make the world or His kingdom better. If, one day, you stand before the Almighty, and He asks you the question “what have you done with the tools I entrusted to you?,” do you want the traffic-bound Lamborghini to be the mental image that sums up your life?

Lord, Your version of success and the world’s version of success are two very different things. Grant me the insight to know what You’d have me do, the resources to do it, and the boldness to leave my comfort zone in order to take the next step. Amen

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The Land Down Under

Upon graduation from college and unsure of a career path to pursue, I moved back in with Mom and Dad. I worked construction during that time, and since I had low overhead, I was able to make tons of progress paying off my college loans. Free of any major responsibilities and feeling adventurous at this point, I decided to start making headway on my lofty goal of visiting every continent.

My folks had taken me to Europe previously, so I could cross that one off the list. I knew that at some point in the future I was more likely to have additional responsibilities (and might have to pay for additional tickets if I were to go traveling), so I determined it would be good to look at the continents that were the most difficult to get to. I really wanted to visit Antarctica, but I figured it would probably be best to get some general travel experience before venturing anywhere near the South Pole. Deciding that it would be nice to go to an English-speaking country, I settled on Australia.

I found an adventure company that did tours all over the world, and they had a few Australian trips coming up. On the agenda for this particular trip was whitewater rafting, hiking and mountain biking in a rainforest, a few days on the Great Barrier Reef, and ocean kayaking out to, then spending a few nights camping on, an island off the Australian coast. I got signed up for a November trip.

While trees are losing leaves and the weather’s getting chilly in North America in November, it’s springtime in the southern hemisphere. Add to that the fact that the area where most of this trip took place was closer to the equator than Jamaica is, and it looked like I was going to have a tan at Thanksgiving.

That figure is for a direct flight; it doesn’t count connecting flights!

The trip ended up being a lot of fun, and I had some neat experiences. I’ll cover a few of them in the next couple of posts, but for now it’s important to remember that even if you ride in a plane to the other side of the world almost 10,000 miles away, God’s still the same God He was before you left.

Whether you’re having a “Jonah” moment and are trying to run away, or are homesick, afraid, and want to see something familiar, God’s still God no matter where you go.

7Where can I go from Your Spirit?
         Or where can I flee from Your presence?

8If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
         If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.

9If I take the wings of the dawn,
         If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,

10Even there Your hand will lead me,
         And Your right hand will lay hold of me.

11If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
         And the light around me will be night,”

12Even the darkness is not dark to You,
         And the night is as bright as the day.
         Darkness and light are alike to You.

Psalm 139:7-12

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Will it Always be This Exciting?

Ready to drive across the country to watch the Winter Olympics

This entry took place almost exactly 17 years ago (just two days off).

It had finally arrived. February of 2002 was here, and the Winter Olympics had finally begun. My college roommate and I had been working on a plot to head out to see some of the Olympics in Utah for about a year and a half, and now everyone in our house was watching the opening ceremonies on TV.

All the gear was bought and (mostly) tested. We had our tickets in hand. The numerous little pieces were all falling into place, and in a week or so we would embark on a great adventure.

We made final preparations for the trip and filled our professors in on what we were about to do. We checked and re-checked details about the trip. In those last days before heading out, we watched all kinds of Olympic coverage; it didn’t matter what was on. The guys in our house, getting into the spirit of things, would even watch Curling, which none of us understood. (“YES! Wait…so was that good or bad?”)

As our departure date drew near, we assembled all our gear, packing and re-packing it to see how to maximize use of the space we had. Some of our stuff would be nice to have, but if we couldn’t fit it, it wasn’t going with us.

The day finally arrived. We loaded up my little car with all of the supplies we were bringing. There was barely room for the two of us to fit. We left before dawn.

The initial drive took us from Western New York State to Pittsburgh, where we switched to a larger rental car. From there it was pretty much a straight shot out West along Route 80 to Salt Lake City. We were excited. This was really happening; we were really doing this!

Twelve hours later, we were bored out of our minds.

It was over 2,000 miles and more than 30 hours of driving to our destination. America is a beautiful place, but it’s kinda drab in February. Ohio wasn’t much to look at. Indiana wasn’t much different. It got dark when we were somewhere in Illinois, and we weren’t going to stop for another few hours. We kept going until we hit Iowa after 16 hours of driving on day one, where we eventually found a rest stop and slept in the car overnight.

It seemed like the most beautiful part of some states was a higher speed limit

The excitement had worn off. A day that began with such immense promise and electricity became dull and mundane. All the different radio stations seemed to play the same songs. There wasn’t much scenery to enjoy as we drove. You didn’t need to eat much if all you did was sit in a car all day. We snacked on stuff, but it was as much for having something to do as it was for being hungry. The highlight of the drive that first day was stopping at a Wendy’s for dinner. “Will that be for the dining room, or would you like it to go?”

“NO! The dining room, please!“

The Christian life can be exciting. When you see yourself being used to fulfill God’s purposes, there’s nothing quite like it. It’s thrilling to go on missions trips, start learning about a Bible study topic that hits close to home, read a book about a subject you’ve been wanting to learn more about, or go so far as to start a new project or effort that’s been tugging at your heart. There are going to be times in those journeys, though, where it gets dull, boring, or even becomes downright drudgery.

In a previous post I includede the phrase “go until you get a no.” The drudgery isn’t a “no,” it’s just a way for you to get worn down and an excuse for you to give up. If you give up on a herculean effort because you lose interest or get discouraged, you’re not giving God the opportunity to move mountains. God’s sense of timing tends to be different from our own. If you felt sure that He called you to take on a task, and you went so far as to get started on it, shouldn’t you see it through? Shouldn’t you go until you get a “no?”

Hang in there at least a little longer. God has a way of showing up at just the right time.

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