The Bigger it is, the Harder to Turn Around
As I turned the bend in the road, I thought at first, there was an accident up ahead. A number of cars were stopped and a large, a very large tractor-trailer truck was in the middle of the intersection. That truck was indeed a strange sight. Once I arrived at the intersection I could see immediately what was happening.
The truck driver had apparently made a wrong turn. Now he was attempting to correct his mistake by turning around. In my little sub-compact car, no big deal; I merely would have zipped into someone’s driveway and turned around. Not so for this big enormous truck. The truck driver had to stop in the middle of one street and ever so slowly back into another street, which meant the skillful negotiation of a 90⁰ corner. It was a considerable undertaking and tied up traffic for, at least 20 minutes.
Sitting there watching all of this I CONSIDERED how the bigger the problem, the more it takes to correct it. The longer we travel down that narrow winding road, the more difficult it is to turn around. The more we stay away from worship the easier it is; and the more difficult to come back. The more we allow resentment to build, the more difficult it is to be reconciled to a brother or sister. The bigger we allow our lives to be filled up with worldly pursuits, the more difficult it is to pursue God. The more reasons we find for hurtful criticism, the harder it becomes to find something encouraging to say.
Sitting there waiting for that truck to turn around, I CONSIDERED my life. Perhaps you might do the same. Have we made a wrong turn? Are we on that road? Are we traveling farther and farther and our load is becoming heavier and heavier? Are we at that point of turning around?
It was for me a most challenging 20 minutes.
“If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning.” (Psalm 130: 3-6)
