Eighteen Wheeler Theology

 

In the past ten years I have also made some observations about driving on multi-lane freeways in Dallas:

+          the left lane does not mean anything in Dallas (in other major metropolitan areas you use it to pass)

+          on a six lane highway, people change lanes at will; as long as you have your blinker on it doesn’t matter if someone else is in the lane you want in

+          merge is a personal challenge

+          if your lane is moving too slow or has come to a stop, you always have the option of driving over the median or creating your own exit by driving up a hill to the frontage road--of course this works best if you have a pick-up truck, which most people in Texas do.

 

I’ve also been noticing eighteen wheelers lately (how could one not notice them).  I got to thinking, “You know the words found on the back of 18 wheelers describe many of our lives:

flammable; caution, wide right turns; wanted, qualified drivers; if you can’t see me in my mirror, I can’t see you; to report uncourteous driving, dial 1-800...; and my personal favorite--oversized load.”

 

The other morning I was in my usual hurry to get to work, frustrated that the traffic was moving slowly, irritated that my lane was occupied by people who obviously had just gotten their learner’s permit.  I got stuck behind this eighteen wheeler, and no matter what I tried, I could not get around this truck.  I finally just decided that it wasn’t worth all the negative energy I was expending to arrive at the office 10 minutes sooner than I had anticipated, so I just relaxed and went with the flow of the traffic.

 

After a few minutes my eyes focused on some writing on the back of the eighteen wheeler in front of me.  The words read: GRACE, nonflammable.  In the miles that followed I thought to myself, “That is how grace comes to us. That is how God comes to us--in the midst of the hustle, frustration and worry of our everyday lives.  Big as an eighteen wheeler, God’s grace has always been in front of us; it just takes slowing down and focusing on what is already there.”

 

Writer Anne Lamott says the mystery of grace is that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.  That is the best driving lesson any of us could follow on our life’s multi-lane journey.