― Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God
As a side job to help a friend my dad would occasionally drive truck. I was an adult at the time and rode along to spend time with him. I have always asked a lot of questions and my dad is one who loves to share what he knows. I learned a lot about driving truck. I have an appreciation for all vehicles but I have a secret love for a nice truck. Lights and chrome as it thunders by can bring a smile to my face. Truckers don't get enough appreciation especially on the road. Tonight I was thinking about life and how it resembles driving a truck.
When a truck driver needs to make it up a long or steep hill, you will see them sometimes get a run at it. There's a lot of weight to a loaded truck and on a good hill they can slow to a crawl. I get frustrated for them when they get a good run at a hill and somebody in a small car pulls in front of them barely doing the speed limit. They don't realize the truck is now going to hold up everyone behind them.
I remember one time when my kids were small and I had a friend and her kids with us. We were stopped behind two or three cars on a busy highway waiting for the first one to make a left hand turn. I always check my rear view mirror to make sure the person behind me is stopping. This time I watched a milk truck, obviously loaded trying desperately to stop before he rammed into the back of us. The trailer was moving out to the side and black smoke was rolling. When I had a chance I took a left hand turn behind that first car. It was illegal, but I knew we were in trouble. The other two cars barely got moving when the truck finally stopped within feet of them. If I would have stayed where I was there would have been a chain reaction pile up.
The little bit I have learned from my dad has helped me, like when I drove a loaded U-Haul pulling a trailer with my pickup on it from Texas to Washington. It has also caused me to help truckers. If I see a truck who needs to change lanes, I get over and hold up traffic so they can get in. The pay off? When travelling alone with my girls truckers, most truckers watched out for us.
I heard or read some where in the past months that people tend to believe when things are going well, then we often times get hit with something negative. This person suggested that maybe God knows the negative is coming and gives us a little down hill to make a run for the hill that's coming up. If God designed our roads, I would guess that He would do this. The longer the ease of going down hill was in preparation for the longer uphill. It feels this way in my journey anyway.
Lately I have been busting through fears like a snowplow. Every drift I break through seems to make the next one even easier. But then God in his kindest way has been revealing a problem to me the last couple days. He gives me a little at a time while I'm busy busting fears so I don't dwell on it and become overwhelmed. But tonight He gave me the rest of the story and suddenly it seems I am driving a low rider and high centered on a pile of snow. Or we could say I had picked up speed for the hill ahead and suddenly an old man in a Volkswagen Bug doing 35 mph on the interstate barely cleared my bumper as he meandered over into my lane. Seriously? Can't you see I was driving here? Hello? Is that God in that Bug?
Dave and I joke about my bulldozer idling in the driveway and how one day God is going to say, "Go" and everybody better move. I thought it was time. I packed a lunch grabbed a jacket, put it in gear and God smiled, waved, and said, "Your tracks fell off."
"What? I can't hear you. My tracks?" I shut the thing down and got off to stand beside God and check out the problem. "That's pretty major, God."
"It's okay, we can fix it."
"That's pretty major, God."
"It's going to be alright." He pats me on the shoulder.
"Gooooooood, that's major."
Hey, I have a bulldozer for sale. I will stick with writing.
Writing what you ask? How about a book titled, "How to have a successful relationship that lasts three minutes?" Or "Coffee stand friendships." Here's one, "How to make your relationship last all the way through the grocery line." Yep, that's the problem
Apparently God thinks my bubble has to go. He says it is too big. I like it. People can see in and I can share anything, I'm not afraid to tell my story. The fear comes after the words. Where is the door? My sister hates going to the coffee stand with me, because I talk and they share and we laugh and then I drive away and she has to drink cold coffee. On the way out of the grocery store my mom has asked me how I knew that lady I was talking to, I didn't. I just allowed her to look in my bubble, now run mom, before she asks for my number.
How am I supposed to help people if I can't get close to them. I have friends, I have good friends that I dearly love, but my friendships resemble a yo-yo or maybe one of those paddles with a ball attached by a rubber band. I have a lot of guy friends, Though its just a different color yo-yo with a shorter string. I don't even know what women like to do. I don't like shopping. I shop online and the only interaction is with the UPS guy. Fashion? Not my thing. I would just as soon shave my head for the convenience of it than actually style my hair. Yep, there is a HUGE snow drift at the end of my driveway blocking my trackless bulldozer. Aren't we all excited to see how God fixes this one?
“I don't know how, but I know Who”
― Beth Moore
When a truck driver needs to make it up a long or steep hill, you will see them sometimes get a run at it. There's a lot of weight to a loaded truck and on a good hill they can slow to a crawl. I get frustrated for them when they get a good run at a hill and somebody in a small car pulls in front of them barely doing the speed limit. They don't realize the truck is now going to hold up everyone behind them.
I remember one time when my kids were small and I had a friend and her kids with us. We were stopped behind two or three cars on a busy highway waiting for the first one to make a left hand turn. I always check my rear view mirror to make sure the person behind me is stopping. This time I watched a milk truck, obviously loaded trying desperately to stop before he rammed into the back of us. The trailer was moving out to the side and black smoke was rolling. When I had a chance I took a left hand turn behind that first car. It was illegal, but I knew we were in trouble. The other two cars barely got moving when the truck finally stopped within feet of them. If I would have stayed where I was there would have been a chain reaction pile up.
The little bit I have learned from my dad has helped me, like when I drove a loaded U-Haul pulling a trailer with my pickup on it from Texas to Washington. It has also caused me to help truckers. If I see a truck who needs to change lanes, I get over and hold up traffic so they can get in. The pay off? When travelling alone with my girls truckers, most truckers watched out for us.
I heard or read some where in the past months that people tend to believe when things are going well, then we often times get hit with something negative. This person suggested that maybe God knows the negative is coming and gives us a little down hill to make a run for the hill that's coming up. If God designed our roads, I would guess that He would do this. The longer the ease of going down hill was in preparation for the longer uphill. It feels this way in my journey anyway.
Lately I have been busting through fears like a snowplow. Every drift I break through seems to make the next one even easier. But then God in his kindest way has been revealing a problem to me the last couple days. He gives me a little at a time while I'm busy busting fears so I don't dwell on it and become overwhelmed. But tonight He gave me the rest of the story and suddenly it seems I am driving a low rider and high centered on a pile of snow. Or we could say I had picked up speed for the hill ahead and suddenly an old man in a Volkswagen Bug doing 35 mph on the interstate barely cleared my bumper as he meandered over into my lane. Seriously? Can't you see I was driving here? Hello? Is that God in that Bug?
Dave and I joke about my bulldozer idling in the driveway and how one day God is going to say, "Go" and everybody better move. I thought it was time. I packed a lunch grabbed a jacket, put it in gear and God smiled, waved, and said, "Your tracks fell off."
"What? I can't hear you. My tracks?" I shut the thing down and got off to stand beside God and check out the problem. "That's pretty major, God."
"It's okay, we can fix it."
"That's pretty major, God."
"It's going to be alright." He pats me on the shoulder.
"Gooooooood, that's major."
Hey, I have a bulldozer for sale. I will stick with writing.
Writing what you ask? How about a book titled, "How to have a successful relationship that lasts three minutes?" Or "Coffee stand friendships." Here's one, "How to make your relationship last all the way through the grocery line." Yep, that's the problem
Apparently God thinks my bubble has to go. He says it is too big. I like it. People can see in and I can share anything, I'm not afraid to tell my story. The fear comes after the words. Where is the door? My sister hates going to the coffee stand with me, because I talk and they share and we laugh and then I drive away and she has to drink cold coffee. On the way out of the grocery store my mom has asked me how I knew that lady I was talking to, I didn't. I just allowed her to look in my bubble, now run mom, before she asks for my number.
How am I supposed to help people if I can't get close to them. I have friends, I have good friends that I dearly love, but my friendships resemble a yo-yo or maybe one of those paddles with a ball attached by a rubber band. I have a lot of guy friends, Though its just a different color yo-yo with a shorter string. I don't even know what women like to do. I don't like shopping. I shop online and the only interaction is with the UPS guy. Fashion? Not my thing. I would just as soon shave my head for the convenience of it than actually style my hair. Yep, there is a HUGE snow drift at the end of my driveway blocking my trackless bulldozer. Aren't we all excited to see how God fixes this one?
“I don't know how, but I know Who”
― Beth Moore
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