As I rounded the bend on the M5, the bright orange lights on the sign ahead flashed an unwelcome message: “Incident ahead. Slow down. Expect delays.” My commute to College, normally a pleasant 30 minute drive against the traffic, was going to be different today.
Incident ahead.
Thoughts sprang quickly to mind – How will I have time to prepare my lessons for the morning? What will happen to my class if I don’t get there before the bell? Will I still have time to make myself a coffee? The incident that I should have been concerned about, the one on the road a few kilometres ahead was forgotten, as I considered the impact of this news on my own circumstances.
Slow down.
Crawling along in the seemingly never-ending line of vehicles, another thought occurred to me: I don’t often get a chance to observe the scenery on the edges the motorway. As I looked around, a golden wattle tree, bursting into bloom, glowed brilliantly the morning sunlight. Suddenly I was reminded of the beauty of creation! It turned an otherwise unpleasant situation into a chance to be grateful. To be honest, gratitude is not always at front of my mind in the busyness of daily life. Maybe I need to slow down a bit more often.
Expect delays.
Life often doesn’t work out just how we’d like it to. I’m thankful for that. It’s a reminder that I’m not in control of most things. When I’m forced to sit in traffic, unable to change the weather, and powerless to fix my own thoughts and behaviour, I realise I need help from the One who is all-powerful. God knows I need it too:
Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.- Psalm 46:10-11