We headed up the mountains looking forward to changes in color along the highway. Our plan included a stop at a waterfall, lunch, and finding pumpkins. As we started out, our conversation was peppered with laughter and questions from two little boys in the backseat. All was well until we noted an emergency vehicle and clusters of people in the distance. As we drove closer to the scene, we spotted cyclists-lots of them. With wishful thinking, we hoped the bike race had ended. Not so; the further we drove, we caught up with lines of cyclists. Our conversation moved to curious questions,
“Where are they going?” “How many are there?” asked the younger boy.
“Thousands, I think,” answered his brother. “I saw the number 2,000 on the back of a shirt.”
I silently groaned, knowing there were well over one hundred and they were going in our direction. The two-lane winding road required we stay in our lane and not pass. Ten miles an hour would make a long morning. We had no solution except to fall in line and stay in our lane.
We understood the reason for the delay but the explanation didn’t fix it. We continued driving under twenty mph for nearly thirty minutes. In that thirty minutes, we had a remedy. We played an imagination game: How far were they biking? Were they tired? Do they race a lot? How many were participating? What kind of bikes do they have? Why did one cyclist get off and walk up the hill? What if someone was hurt or had to use a restroom? There’s a lady sitting in a lawn chair cheering and another with a laptop. A laptop? Why? Yes, clocking the cyclists.
Time didn’t speed up. Thirty minutes was thirty minutes, but we used it with creative questions, imagination, and fun—even learning that someone keeps records on a laptop in the middle of nowhere..
Life presents more serious problems that often don’t have solutions.
We plan but…
We expect but instead…
But… we can look for remedies. We thought we had a clear path but interruptions say otherwise. How can we stay in our lane?
- 1 Peter 5:7 reminds us to not be anxious but to cast our cares and anxieties on the Lord because He cares for us.
- Psalm 16:5 tells us our script is safely in God’s hands.
- Matthew 11:28-29 invites us take Jesus’ yoke and find rest.
- Hebrews 13:5 affirms God ever abandons us.
- Hebrews 4:16 says we have access to prayer and can find mercy and grace to help in time of need.
Life situations may not change and daily life traffic often stays bumper to bumper with no way of escape. There are lines of bicyclists in our way and no way to safely pass. When solutions to fix and change aren’t likely, and we have to stay in our lane, we can find remedies of security in God’s promises. We can look for hope: confidence that God’s character never changes and He keeps His promises—like sufficient grace when we’re stuck behind cyclists with no escape in sight.
What about you? Have you met “cyclists in your lane” or has bumper to bumper traffic halted your plans? How have you met the promises of a remedy when you knew a solution was not in sight?
You can read more about real hope in life interruptions in Destination Hope: A Travel Companion When Life Falls Apart by Marilyn Nutter and April White.
You must be an author! Every time I read something new from you, it just keeps getting better. Loved this post ma’am; and am so appreciative of the lesson you not only taught your grandchildren, but also me. Sometimes, becoming anxious seems inevitable. How we deal with a challenge like this is completely up to us. We can let anxiousness turn to concern, then grow into full-blown worry, or we can trust in God’s word and allow the negatives of this world be turned into God’s positives. Great post Ms. Marilyn. Thank you ma’am.
Always a lesson, JD. Thanks for you kind words. Marilyn
This is so good, Marilyn! Thank you for sharing this!
You’re welcome!
Marilyn, I love the truth and suggestions you shared in this post. People or challenges often block our path, but you remind us to enjoy the present and learn from
God’s perspective when our plans are thwarted. Thank you.
It’s a life-long struggle with interruptions and a life long pursuit to choose joy. Thanks, Jeannie.
Thanks for the great illustration of a very helpful principle, Marilyn. I must confess, though, that it challenges one of my well developed gifts–the art of complaining. If I was in that procession behind the bikers, I could have easily complained the whole time. I could have criticized having the race on such a narrow road. I would have suggested that someone should have see such a thing coming and widened the road when it was built. I might have pointed out how nice it would have been for them to just pause the race for a while and let us go by. All of which would have solved nothing and only added to the sense of frustration. I’ll miss the complaining, because I’m so good at it, but I’ll have less stress as I attempt to look for remedies in the days ahead.
You’re welcome. I think at one time or another, we can say we win the complaining trophy. We had the benefit of curiosity from two young boys that day and my desire to set a good example. Had I been alone…well I might have competed with you. Marilyn
We will always have life interruptions. How we handle them is what makes the difference. Your creative way to manage the slow moving time helped the younger ones learn to make good out of a bad situation. Thanks for sharing, Marilyn!
Thanks for this great post on how to deal with interruptions to our plans. God is sovereign. He controls our situations and uses them to shape us. Having to wait is often part of His plan.
Yes, waiting rooms are “not nothing” but a very important “something. Marilyn
Soon after our grandson was born 24 months ago our generally blissful existence hit a serious speed bump. At around 9 months he developed life threatening allergies to peanuts, tree nuts and diary. Our daughter and her husband quickly became experts on caring for an infant with this type of affliction. And while we still thanked God for all his blessings, our family now added a heavy dose of requests for Owen’s survival. The thought of losing the little guy almost paralyzed me with dread.
After many trips to the hospital and allergist our prayers were answered on Monday. Owen’s last blood test results came back with miraculously lower readings, According to the doctor it usually takes many years for improvement like this, if it happens at all.
Prayers are a wonderful thing, and I give all the credit to God for Owen’s improvement.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful story and outcome. Prayer can be our remedy to find grace and peace in difficult times. It often offers a solution in the form of insight and wisdom in difficult times. I am reminded of Hannah in the OT–her way of escape (in her circumstances) that we read about in times of trials in the NT book of Hebrews–was prayer and your family found that to be true. Blessings in the new year, Marilyn