Roadblocks

Several years ago my family and I went out west to enjoy the beauty of the Rockies while taking a jeep up long and winding roads. We had traveled two days from our home and were only a couple of hours from our destination when traffic came to an absolute standstill. For as far as you could see there were cars not moving an inch.  We expected it to be road work or a wreck that was causing this delay however, as the minutes turned into hours, it became clear that we weren’t dealing with a minor slow down. We got out and walked around. We met our fellow stuck travelers. We went shopping at the little stores nearby but most importantly, we waited… and questioned... and complained. I was tired and hot and hungry and bored. 

It all seemed like such a waste of good vacation time, in fact, it took us so long to get to our destination that we arrived after dark when everything was closed, including all the restaurants. If you don’t know, Ouray, CO has no franchises or national chains and most businesses close early which is cool just not when you’re starving after living off of gas station rations. It felt like that roadblock had ruined my day and yet, what that roadblock really did was protect me. 

See, what we found out as we waited around for the traffic to start moving, was that the roadblock was due to a huge mudslide up the road and the potential danger for more trouble to come. Please note, I’m from South Mississippi. We do hurricanes and floods and tornadoes but mudslides aren’t a common sight. I didn’t fully grasp the threat of the situation until part of the road finally opened back up and we could see the destruction to homes, businesses and the like. Had we been allowed to continue driving through before the damage had been assessed and dealt with we could have ended up in danger as well, instead of just hot and hungry. 

It made me wonder how often I do that with “holy roadblocks”? When I’m stopped or slowed in my journey, how often is the Father protecting me from what’s ahead or clearing the way for me on my journey? Yet, much like my vacation, I’m often too concerned with what isn’t going my way to stop and consider all that I’m potentially being protected from at that moment. And while my journey that day didn’t go how I would have wanted, it was a day that ended with me safe at my destination, if a little behind when I thought I should be there, and having my needs fully met, even if it was gas station snacks and the worst pizza I’ve ever eaten. God’s “holy roadblocks” work like that too. We often arrive far later than we would have wanted and take detours we didn’t plan. Sometimes, we forget to be thankful for our needs being met because we desire our wants even more. 

Ultimately, that vacation was one full of amazing memories and that roadblock is a great story (and lesson) to tell. I guess I could have let that ruin my outlook for the rest of my trip but that would have been ridiculous. It was just a roadblock that required slowing down which actually allowed for other great memories and moments. Maybe if we can start to view our “holy roadblocks” with the same perspective we can appreciate the small things while waiting to get where we’re going?