Friday, January 30, 2009

Big City Traffic

I haven’t lived in NYC for 15 years. I was used to driving on the highways and could weave with the best of them. Now I’m older and I’ve learned to leave earlier to have enough time to reach my destination. I found driving in Dallas challenging. Sometimes I felt like I was taking my life into my own hands.

I’ve noticed that there are many cops on the side of the roads, doing their jobs (or should I say waiting to trap people speeding). So why do it? Why speed? To me it’s not worth the ticket. I do have to be careful not to go with the flow of traffic because they tend to drive 10 miles above speed limit. So I do the speed limit and get to where I’m going safely.

What I absolutely love is when cars race up behind me and ride my bumper just so they can pass me three minutes later. Do they think that driving that close to my bum will make me speed up? Do they believe that if traffic stopped short (which I learned the hard way) in front of me, they have adequate time to step on their break? Should I be intimated by them?

Driving on the road of life, I try not to head too fast unless God changed the speed limit. I f0und if I move ahead of Him, I’ve crashed and burn. If I lag behind Him, I tend not to catch up in time. Driving along with Him at the correct speed gets me to where I’m going.

Sometimes that road has bumps. It sometimes has unexpected road signs, “Detour,” “Yield,” “Construction Ahead,” etc. Right now I’m not sure where the road we are on is taking us. I don’t understand what appear to be road blocks in our path. This I know, I’ll follow the signs He lays out the best I can. My desire is to follow Him and stay on track.

© Nadine Zawacki 2009

BOOK GIVEAWAY

My friend Cherrye at My Bella Vita is hosting a book giveaway of Prisoner of Circumstance. She posted an author interview and her giveaway will last a week. So if you haven’t purchased a copy yet and would like another chance to win, please visit Cherrye’s blog. Cherrye has a flair for writing and often writes about her life in Italy. Along with her husband, Peppe, she owns and operates a Bed and Breakfast.

UPDATE - ANOTHER GIVEAWAY

My friend over at In A Garden is having a giveaway of her own of my book Prisoner of Circumstance. Hop over to her blog if you want yet another chance to win a copy. She has a lovely blog where she often posts pictures of beautiful family and gardens and shares her faith.

25 comments:

Susan said...

Great post, Nadine. May we all stay within the "limits" and "signals" He has set for each of us.
Susan

Jen(n) said...

love this post Nay... it really spoke to me. Hope God crosses our highways again.

Art said...

I hate driving in city traffic. But I like this post!

Susan said...

Nadine, Thanks so much for giving me the link to your husbands blog. I had seen the video by the Catholic church but I had not heard the John Paul Jackson messages. WOW. I know of him but had not heard these. I listened to the first and will go back and listen to the second. I looked for an e-mail address on your page to try and e-mail you, instead of leaving this as a comment but didn't see one.
Susan

Brenda said...

I call that trust! Like my daughter said, trusting is hard but necessary.

Dawn said...

Another good devotional thought! There are several of you out there in blogland who should definitely get together and publish a devotional book. Excellent.

Unknown said...

Great reminder, Nadine! Sometimes God even signals for us to pull over to the shoulder of the road and catch a scenic view, or just wait until the fog lifts.

Blessings to you, Mrs. Z...and to Mr. Z too!

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Dear Nadine,

Wow, your desire to follow and stay on track is the best. Great post!

I was tagged today and now I've tagged you because you are a special blogger friend and I have so enjoyed visiting with you. If you would like to participate, please see my post:

http://gratefulprayerthankfulheart.blogspot.com/2009/01/another-tag-my-memories-from-2008.html

And if you opt-out, that's fine too.

Kind Regards, ldh

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Oh, Yes, Nadine... I do remember reading your post. And yes, I did love watching LOST this week. I am such a fan! I can't figure a lot out but it sure is thought provoking.

Bex said...

a great post and something i really need to hear right NOW. ok, so now God is working through bloggers?! why not...

Shionge said...

I admire you faith in Him as always Nadine :D

Strider said...

Was that picture at the front of you post rush hour traffic on Road 68? :-) Good post.

Lynda Meyers said...

Great thoughts Nadine - thanks so much for sharing your perspective on life!

Marla said...

This was a great post. I drive the speed limit, but everyday before I head off on my one hour commute to work I pray that God help others to drive safely. There are really some crazy drivers out there. Driving sometimes tests me to my limits!

palmtreefanatic said...

Thats awesome! Great post Nadine!
i would love to win another book! EVERYONE Wants to borrow mine after telling them about it! I am half done and every one thinks it sounds to make a good movie! have you thought about that Nadine?

Lala's world said...

going thru a bit of a blow here too....thanks for the perspective!

j said...

I do NOT ride other driver's bumpers but I do have a tendency to speed. And I have never been bothered by interstate driving or traffic.

Love the analogy! Classic Nadine!

Bebe said...

Hi Nadine!
What an insightful post! You always make me look at things in a different way! Loved reading your interview over at Cherrye's blog!
Lots of Hugs, Bebe :)

Kellan said...

Life is a road with lots of twists and turns that's for sure!

Have a great week, Nadine - see you soon - Kellan

eph2810 said...

You are right, Nadine, if we indeed not keep in step with God (moving too fast or too slow), we might get side-tracked -- even crash and burn...
I am sure the change from the Pacific Northwest to Texas was not an easy one...

Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

Tammy said...

I am guilty of sometimes driving a little too fast if we're late for appts...but driving in the big city is something I don't like at all!

Great analogy!

Anonymous said...

I remember wanting to rush through my first born's babyhood. All too quickly I learned to slow down and enjoy it all.

Deb said...

What an awesome post. Your so right.
Our free will is like the breaks and gas peddle aren't they....

ps. I have an award for you at my blog.

Have an awesome week Nadine.

my word verification says Nabless....bless you Na!

Damselfly said...

Fun metaphor!

Sometimes, I pray, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of I-95...."

Christina said...

I always laugh when someone rides my bumper, then passes me, and then I see them at a stop light 5 minutes later. Boy I guess they wanted to race me to the stop light.

Great analogy.