Narrow Roads

Have you driven through North Texas recently? If you have, you know that every single highway we have up here is under construction! It is nuts! I spend a lot of time in my truck, so this construction is getting me a little edgy. I try and spend most of my drives with the radio off and in conversation with the Lord. The stuff He tells me when I am stuck in traffic is really cool! That's why today, I'm taking a break from Uganda blogs to share a cool analogy I got from highway driving with my Dad this week.

So, on Tuesday, I was driving through construction like always; however, I was especially stressed out then because they had once again changed which exit went where. As I was white-knuckling the steering wheel, the highway narrowed to one lane, with no shoulders and concrete barriers on either side. If I got lazy in my driving or shifted slightly to the left or to the right I would hit the walls. It lasted for about a half mile, and when it opened back up to a two lane highway, the Lord reminded me of Matthew 7:14.

For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Just like on the road, in my life, if I get off track just a little bit it has huge consequences. Sometimes I am tempted to get lazy in my walk with the Lord and I take a break from being daily in the Word. Other times, I am tempted to believe the lies that if I just do some small sin or tell some little lie that it wont affect anything too much. It's not true, for the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life. I have to stay on the straight and narrow path, not veering to the right or to the left, but walking where the Lord has made a way for me to go.

Also like in driving, when you go off road in your life and you get wrecked up, or things seem to be falling to pieces, or you just feel yourself getting farther away from the Lord, the damage isn't necessarily permanent. If I wreck my truck, I have to take it in to the repair shop to get it fixed. When I wreck my life, I have to go to the Lord for healing and direction. He is the only worker skilled enough to fix the messes we make in our lives.

So, when your life starts looking like the one lane highway with no shoulders and concrete barriers on either side, remember to stay focused on the Lord to guide you through it. Never take your eyes off of Him and make sure not to drift to the right or the left. And remember, the construction doesn't go on forever, in another half a mile you'll be out of it again, and probably a more skilled driver to boot!