Guided By Reflectors

I was driving along a windy mountain road in Colorado on a vacation with my family.  It was nighttime, and like most mountain roads at night, there was little light.  Street lamps are not found in the woods.  The curves switched back and forth, right and left, while the road itself followed a general incline intermixed with small declines.  As I drove I had to pay attention to the reflectors to help me know what was coming next.  Even with my headlights on, the illumination was limited to the road directly in front of me.  So to prepare for what came next I had to trust the reflectors and use them as my guides.  I knew that just on the other side of those road barriers was a long drop to the canyon bottom below.

In the daytime, you can see far enough ahead to notice when the road is no longer going to be straight, and you can even see if it is curving to the left and when.  But at night, you can't determine that as easily.  You must rely on the reflectors to outline the road for you and as you turn around a bend, you must seek out those reflectors to help you get the new lay of the road.

This often feels like my walk with Christ.  I like to drive in the daytime. I like when I can see what is coming and know how to prepare for it.  But I think this picture of night driving is a better analogy to what Christ would like my life to be like.   The darkness forces me to be reliant on God.  I can't plan and prepare for what is coming next, because I don't know what it is.  Instead I have to be present in the moment, turn left now, not knowing if there is a straight or a turn or an incline beyond that.  I must look to the reflectors, the guide posts He offers, to keep me on track.  I don't like how little control I feel I have in that situation. But that's kind of the point.

I am not writing this as eloquently as I thought it, but you get the gist.