Travelers

“We are only here for a moment; visitors and strangers in the land of our ancestors.” (1 Chronicles 29:15 NLT)

We drove 726 hard miles yesterday. Setting out after church. And somewhere in Kansas I listened to a podcast from Dick Foth about how life is like a long road trip. He shared about the wagon trains and great migrations of families across this beautiful country. I watched the miles pass under our tires and my mind wandered to my own experiences pounding the pavement.

I was practically born in a moving vehicle. My parents gathered cars the way many folks collect stamps or thimbles or state-shaped magnets. Because of their love for all things automotive, we spent much of my early life moving cars from one dusty barn in a distant state to another one. I have eaten flapjacks from the tailgate of a 58 GMC. My first personal tow was a 67 Cadillac across the entire state Nebraska. I’ve heard a piston get thrown in Minnesota and stayed with a stranger for three days while the engine was replaced. I’ve stood on the side of the road as a blown transmission was diagnosed in the Catskills. I’ve changed a tire on the interstate in Ohio. Also in Texas. On the crest of a hill. At sunset. With semis flying by at 80 miles an hour. I’ve ridden with 4/60 air conditioning; meaning four windows rolled down (they did actually roll back then) and sixty miles an hour. I’ve spent the night camped out in the back of my 64 Ford Econoline. I’ve seen the skis fly off our roof rack at ninety miles an hour in the mountains of Colorado. Once I even drove through a deluge of mushrooms in the wake of an overturned produce truck in Missouri. It’s been an adventure, for sure.

Listening to Dick Foth make the comparison between life and a road trip was somehow solidifying, even soothing. I learned long ago that the crazier the road trip, the better the story. Also, good road trips will always have ups and downs, that’s what makes them interesting. There are going to be sleepy stretches through pass-through states like Kansas. But there are also going to be high-speed, high-interest overpasses through bustling cities like Houston or Dallas. On a road trip we eat food and sometimes it great and sometimes it disagrees with us greatly. The sites are always changing; the skies are always changing, the weather is always changing. It’s all part of the adventure. If you don’t like the scenery/sky/weather, keep driving.

The trouble with life comes when we get stuck, when we start to believe the subtle lie that this is all there is. When this happens, we start to crave comfort, ease and routine. We want to pull over the car and buy a house. We want to build a life with a permanent view. But this has never been God’s stated intention for His special people.

God calls us out to the open road. He calls us to the adventure and even a little terror of trusting Him entirely. He calls us to carry tents, not titles to pieces of property. And He promises to escort us every step of the way.

“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither leave you or abandon you.” (Deuteronomy 31:8 NLT)

Lord, forgive us for our tendency to look for comfort and ease when You have called us to a life of exploits with You. Give us courage and appetite for adventure. Makes us confident that traveling with You is infinitely safer than sitting out at home on our own. Amen.