Pothole-laden Roads
Please make sure you are on the lookout for them. You may want to slow down and be cautious when you see them. At times you will have to drive around them, and sometimes you’ll find you cannot avoid them. Sit tight as you navigate, and whatever you do, don’t attempt to take a drink of water as you drive over them. Pothole-laden roads are hard to avoid.
They’re everywhere
Potholes are everywhere; whether on well-traveled highways or backcountry roads, in your town, or halfway across the world, potholes don’t discriminate where they set up residence, and they are as numerous as the cars that travel.
My husband grew up in the northern part of Argentina, where potholed roads are as commonplace as coffee shops and ice cream parlors. Certain potholes have found their way into the Pothole Hall of Fame for being the oldest and most prominent in the city.
Each year these infamous potholes celebrate birthdays and are measured by pothole enthusiasts to see how much they have grown in the past year. It takes so long to fix any pothole in the city that many eventually overtake large areas of the road. The locals figure if you can’t fix them, you might as well celebrate them.
Side effects
Riding in a car while navigating an excess of potholes leaves you jostled, jarred, and blurry visioned. When the car comes to a complete stop and you attempt to get out, you’ll find jello for your legs, waves of nausea sloshing and churning in your stomach, and you may well be a little worse for the wear. But, take a deep breath. Alas, you have arrived at your destination.
Don’t celebreate them
Even pothole-laden roads lead to beautiful places. I often forget that. I am guilty of hyper-focusing to the extent that maneuvering the road before me becomes the goal. That’s not to say we may not need some exceptional navigational skill at times or the wisdom of those who have traveled the same road. But, I don’t need to give the potholes more attention than they deserve.
As Holy Week is upon us, I can’t help but think about the pothole-laden road that made up Jesus’ ministry. Disappointments, threats, betrayals, beatings, and humiliations, to name a few. Ultimately, the road He traveled appeared to be a pothole-ladened dead-end, Calvary.
Hindsight, of course, is always 20/20. We have the privilege of knowing how the story ends; Calvary was not a dead-end but rather a transitory pass that led to the glorious resurrection.
As I ponder what Jesus must have done when facing potholes and dead-ends, a few things come to mind- He went off to a quiet place to be with the Father, He prayed, and He cried out Abba.
I am trying to remind myself that although some stretches of road may leave us jostled and jarred, or worse yet, betrayed and beaten down, the road does not lead to a dead end.
