Traffic Signs

I was driving to work a few mornings ago. I typically have this pattern that I follow... Certain lanes I stay in that yield the quickest route from home to work. Having had a lot on my mind lately, I have not been fully focused and have ended up in the wrong lanes. Sometimes I am in a lane that is a straight lane instead of a turn lane, and that one move ends up changing my whole route. When my route gets changed—a few things can happen. One is that I end up stuck in the main stream of traffic. And even though those roads may be the most direct route, because SO many people are traveling them during rush hour, they are at a dead stand still. Another thing that could happen is that I discover a new and faster way. Or, perhaps it takes the same amount of time or even longer, but the scenery along the way is new and different.

It got me to thinking… if we paid more attention to the signs as we were approaching intersections, we could make sure that we took the most direct route to where we wanted to go. But then again, sometimes we would miss things along the way. And, we might miss finding the hidden way that no one else knows about.

I guess this is somewhat the way I view life, and how God makes the best of every situation. Sometimes we have learned the most direct route already by using the resources given to us. In travel—a map. In morality—scripture and studying the lives of holy people. And other times, we may know a route that has worked for us in the past, but perhaps isn’t the BEST way… maybe those are the times that God jumps in and calls our attention elsewhere so that we will discover new, uncharted territories.

Have you ever met a person or had an experience that called you out of your comfort zone? Yet, for whatever reason, you really enjoyed the activity, experience or person? My life has been full of those. Each of you who is reading this blog and countless others who will never see it have broadened my mind and heart by sharing yourselves and your passions with me. For my birthday this year, my friends Bill and Aleks Turner took me to Panama City to scuba dive. I had never been before, but always wanted to learn, and Bill was kind enough to teach me. My friend Alfred came to learn too. Alfred and Aleks packed this delicious beach picnic. Alfred is a wonderful chef, and that day, by observing him, I learned how to take a picnic and “kick it up a notch”—BAM! I also learned that scuba tanks are incredibly heavy! And if Bill hadn’t shown me how to drag it into the water and then put it on, I would never have been able to get it on my back.

In all our interactions with people, we are constantly learning. Like sponges, we absorb others ideals, cultures, knowledge, etc. It doesn’t mean that we have to adopt these things, but we increase our exposure by sharing experiences. An example would be the scuba tanks. In time, I might have figured out that I needed to drag the tank to the water to make it more buoyant. But by listening to Bill’s experience, I was able to get there much faster. And I am sure Bill learned that from a scuba pro, who learned it from another, etc.

I am an advocate of exposing oneself to as much of the world as possible, but keeping those around you who are of like moral value. Because whether or not we want to admit it, birds of a feather do flock together. So to all you wonderful people who have been a part of making me who I am today by sharing your uniqueness with me—I love you and I thank you! For being willing to share the gifts God gave you! You never know how many lives you impact.