Once as a young driver, in my 1967 Convertible Mustang, my mind was doing what teens with undiagnosed ADHD do, it was all over the place. I was in traffic and late to something I should have left 15 minutes earlier for, but because I thought I owned the road, I had no doubt I could outsmart any traffic. I quickly made a decision to take an alternative route, thinking it would be faster. But, NOPE! There was actually more traffic on this street. Eager to make it through the next stop light, I didn’t notice the rather large sign that said, “Danger, Do Not Stop on Tracks!” So, of course, the light turned yellow and I was shouting at the cars in front of me to keep going through the intersection, however, those drivers were also stuck in traffic. So, there I was, front tires on one side of the tracks and back tires on the other. Then, it was like a movie… the lights began flashing, the safety arms came down and there I was right in the middle of the rails. I looked to my right and there was the train headed toward me. The train horn blared and I panicked. As the train approached, I had no place to go, forward or reverse in the bumper to bumper traffic. The safety arms in front and back seemed to hold me in place as the metal serpent slowly slithered toward me. Fortunately, it was not a speeding train, or I would not be here to tell you this story. It was a slow moving train, but moving it was. Each yard it came closer, I was imagining my life as a slow motion train wreck… being folded into my convertible like a metal taco. At the last moment inching forward and backward I was able to drive off the tracks just enough to not be hit by the train. The train operator was none too happy with me, blaring the horn as the 1000 tons of steel missed my little car by inches. So, I finally arrived at my destination with no blood in my face, humiliated, late, and shaky.
King Solomon sharing his divinely gifted wisdom says, “Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.”(Proverbs 18:12 ESV) God has always been faithful to humble me when my arrogance begins to rise. Though often it involves devastating embarrassment and sometimes bodily injury, I am grateful, because it at least slows me down from running headlong into destruction and it shows me how much He loves me. The writer of Hebrews says this, “And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”(Hebrews 12:5-6 NIV-GK) We can be thankful when we are headed for a train wreck and God humbles us and takes us off the tracks.
Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all.
