This last week Jill and I have been doing some traveling. The grandkids from Virginia flew into Dallas with their mom (we were at a Convention there) and we brought them all back to Gore with us. The next week they went to kids’ camp with our Church. After camp was over we took them back home to Virginia.

Traveling with a 9 and 11 year old for 1100 miles is quite an adventure… are we there yet, how much longer, I’m hungry, I have to use the bathroom and of course my favorite he’s/she’s touching me!!!

This would explain why I took the most direct and quickest route to home. This route traveled was I-40 across Arkansas, Tennessee and then north into Virginia. Now, when I say quickest, what I really meant was the FASTEST!

The longest stretch is across Tennessee. In Oklahoma and Arkansas the posted speed is 75 and everyone drives 80+. In Tennessee the speed limit drops to 70 and everyone drives 80+. If you do not drive 80 you get honked at, stared at, screamed at (not sure what they said, but sure it was no “Jesus loves me”) and one even waved at me using only one finger. Since I was in a hurry, I just joined right in with the crowd.

And since I-40 is a major artery for freight, there is lots of semis moving freight from one side of the country to another. And semis tend to go a lot faster downhill than uphill. This is important as you do not want to pull out to pass going downhill when a semi is coming up behind you. And semis do no mind pulling out to pass another semi regardless if up or downhill which the uphill can cause you to go from 80 to 60 in a matter of a few yards. But, this is only across Tennessee, the longest state east of the Mississippi.

So we have impatient kids, fast drivers and unpredictable semi traffic. I guess I should mention the traffic in Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville. It seemed everyone was going my way at the same time I was…and bumper to bumper.

But after two days of traveling, we made it! We relaxed and spent some time with the grands and my daughter then decided it was time to trek back home. But I am not going the south route through Tennessee! Jill and I have another route we favor. It takes us through West Virginia, Kentucky and drops down into Arkansas back to I-40 and on home.

We like this route for there is very little truck traffic, great highway, amazing scenery and you can drive 70 or 75 miles per hour and not get run over, faces made or any of the other. Granted it does take a little longer but it is just an amazing drive.

There are mountains to see from the time you leave Virginia until the middle of Kentucky. After the mountain come the bluegrass pastures with horses and ranchers bailing hay. If you get off the interstate and on the old highway you see houses and buildings that some will date back to the late 1700’s or early 1800’s. A few of the towns are like going through Mayberry.

Following the pasture land you find the agricultural topography. There is corn in abundance with wheat already harvested and soy beans in mass. When you get to the delta area and on into Arkansas the crops increase with rice fields that are seen in abundance.

Traveling the fast track, these places are there but you can’t see them because you are just going too fast to notice! There is so much to see but you’re in too big of a hurry to enjoy. This is the reason Jill and I enjoy the northern and slower route.

Thursday as I was going through Lexington, KY, it dawned on me I just described life. When we are young, we are always in a hurry to get from point A to point B, go fast to get job done to get noticed, praised or promoted. When our kids come along we run them to school/from school to ball practice, cheer practice, band, ballet or sporting events hoping the weekend will allow us to rest only to find we are still playing chauffer or taxi going to a plethora of events. Even our family vacations leave us more exhausted when coming home.

As the kids grow, we move them to college, watch them graduate, then move them to various apartments and into their first house after they get married. Then they have kids and… Well you get the picture. We get in the fast lane, drive with the crowd and miss the beauty around us.

Even Jesus took the back roads. When John was beheaded he sought time to be alone (but the crowds still followed and he fed 5.000). The disciples came back after going out in twos and he again tried to pull away from the crowd for respite. But, perhaps my favorite was when he went through Samaria and had the encounter with the Samaritan woman.

In this instance, Jesus was on most direct route but lightly traveled (good Jews go 100 miles to avoid going through Samaria). Yet Jesus went a direct but scenic route and beheld a Samaritan woman that received salvation.

Sometimes the slower, longer and more scenic routes can provide the greatest benefits!

Traveling slower, Bro. Tim

First Southern

Baptist Church, Gore