Wednesday, April 15, 2009

WHICH PATH?

Today as I was driving home, there was a huge traffic jam in my community, a suberb just north of Atlanta. All of the roads within blocks from the square in all directions were tangled up with congestion. I was on a road just a few cars from a RR crossing, which should have been a fine route home, except for the fact that the train was sitting at a dead stop.
What to do? Which route to take? Do I wait on the train? If so, will it be a terribly long wait? As I sat and processed all this, many commuters behind me had already begun to make their decision and were turning around. I was hesitant to do this because as I looked in my rear view mirror, I saw that all the roads were blocked. So, I choose to sit and wait. 5, 10, 20, 25 minutes while cars all around me choose to perform u-turns. I open both windows and allow the cool spring day to blow into my car. I hear shouts of the children at a nearby church playground, and I wait on this train that may never move.
As I continued to wait, I thought about how in life we have a lot of paths we can choose. I was reminded of Robert Frost's memorable poem:
"The Road Not Taken"
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,...and I-took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.
Now that we are 50 something women, it may seem that we are faced with more news than usual, and the news, unfortunately, is not always good. Maybe it is because our circle of friends has broadened as we have grown. Perhaps it is because we have greater knowledge, greater wisdom, shall I say, about what can come about as life progresses.
Whatever the reason, it would do our hearts good to consider what path we will take when faced with difficult news. We can collapse into nothingness...and if we do that for a bit, it is understandable. We can decide to take the path of courage amidst trial and follow down that path with encouragement from God and friends who care. WE might choose anger and stay stuck there for awhile. And sometimes news will just cause us to sit and wait until it sinks in. If we really stop and think about it, we can even choose to look for the upside of a situation. As I waited for the train to move, an elderly gentleman, a pedestrian, walked over to my car and instructed me on how, in his opinion, I should turn around and find a new route. And I did...arriving home in less than a half hour.
Which path will you choose today?