Have you ever heard the old saying, “The shortest distance between two points is a straight line?” Well, if you are from Oklahoma you know that saying is not as true as, “The shortest distance is usually under construction and has at least two detours that add at least a half an hour to your total drive time!” I might also add that the traffic will be backed up, going quite slow, and everyone has to come to an almost complete stop to see whatever equipment is being used on the project.
The reason I mention this is that I just came back from Tulsa for about the third time in a week. AND…the turnpike is almost a solid line of construction. It has been that way for quite some time.
You get out of Webbers Falls and get on the Muskogee Turnpike, and you hit the construction imme d i at e ly. Then you drive out of it, then you are back in it, and then you are out of it…all the way to Muskogee.
From there it turns into another zone from Muskogee to Tulsa. You just get past McDonald’s and in a few miles you zoom over to the southbound side, which is one lane at 55 miles an hour. This lane is so rough that you can’t drink your coffee (even from a cup with a lid) or even a soft drink because you are afraid of poking the straw in your eye, the roof of your mouth, or possibly down the back of your throat.
Just when you clear the eight miles of that area you move on to the Coweta Exit on the turnpike. Again, it goes to one lane and is horribly rough. At least when you clear this hurdle you are clear the rest of the way to Tulsa. The Broken Arrow Expressway (an area that for years was constantly under construction, has no construction…at all… any, whatsoever right now)!
I’m not against highway improvements, and I do realize that spring and summer are the best times to do the construction. I am, however, against so many projects on a road that I have to PAY to drive on. And let me throw in for good measure, a road that is supposed to get me to my desired destination more quickly.
Okay, now that the rant is over, I should probably get to my point and possibly insert something spiritual, Biblical and even useful. So, here it goes (And forgive the rant. I just had to get that off my chest).
The cause of the construction was the highway has a lot of travel, every day, 365 days a year. With that much traffic, the road is going to have some wear and tear. It is going to need a little TLC from time to time. And, eventually, portions are going to need to be removed and replaced. It just so happens that these sections all came up at the same time.
This made me think of, well, life. We all have a lot of travel in our lives. We go, go, go all day every day. We are pulled in several directions during the course of a day. Kids with school, sports, and outside activities. Work, recreation, vacation, shopping, yardwork, housework, and family obligations keep us hopping. Church Worship, Bible Study, youth and children activities, committee meetings, and fellowships demand our attention as well.
We keep running and don’t notice the wear and tear on our lives. Or if we do, we will do what the highway department does and put a patch on it to make it good for a little while longer. After a while the wear and tear begins to take its toll, and we have to do some construction.
We have to close a lane, tear out some areas that have crept in and caused us a lot of discomfort. We have neglected Bible reading or study. We miss the Worship time with God because there just doesn’t seem to be enough days in a week. We get irritable with those who remind us of our neglect or notice the potholes in our lives because of the neglect.
We need (well, honestly, I am) to remember life construction, like road construction, is Number 1 – it appears to be a pain. It is inconvenient, “I ain’t got time for that!”
This leads to the second point – we ask, “How long is it going to take?” I think that depends on how long we keep running from God and denying anything is needing to be fixed.
Number three, we need to understand that construction is expensive, but if left unattended it is even more expensive. When I drive a road that is completely rough, too slow or has turned into a road that is just not travelable, I go to another road. If we leave our lives in disrepair, others around us will go elsewhere, and if we become unusable to God, He may use someone else.
Finally, we need to realize that construction to fix or update is NECESSARY. I moan, groan and complain about the roads but when they are finished…WOW! What an improvement! Traffic moves smoothly, efficiently and quickly. It was worth the hassle.
The same is true in life. We need to do an assessment from time to time, and we need to fix what needs to be repaired. It may be painful, costly, and time consuming, but it’s worth it. Simply put…Let go, and let God!
Philippians 1:6 Bro. Tim
First Southern Baptist Church, Gore
