WHAT DOES THE NEXT
YEAR HOLD FOR US?
San
Francisco is famous for its hilly streets but Lombard Street used to
take the prize for being the most treacherous drive until it was
re-engineered to make it safer. Previously, when it was a steep
straight street, it was a one-way death-defying drop toward the San
Francisco Bay. Engineers gave it a series of hairpin S-curves within
the space of one city block. Low, walled gardens were built,
projecting from the sides of the street into the center, creating 4
right-hand and 4 left-hand S-curves—a total of 8 from the high top
to bottom. Maximum speed? Only 5-10 mph. You now spend as much time
going sideways as you do going downhill—but at least you arrive in
one piece!
A
part of the famous Burma Road carved from the mountainous jungles in
the late 1930s, “24-Zig” has 24 zigzag turns in the road in the
space of 2.4 miles—one S-curve every one-tenth of a mile. From the
air, it looks like a long piece of wet spaghetti laid out with 24
perfect hairpin turns running along the top of the mountain ridges.
You actually travel 10 miles in order to complete 2.4 miles. Most of
the time you are going sideways.
Google's
map function will take you visually to both of those spots. Isn't the
Internet fascinating?
We
may fret at the slow pace of our life journey and the sideways
directions seem to be a waste of time. Nevertheless, God seldom takes
us to His destination by a straight street, for good reasons known
only to Him. The zigzags may be frustrating and confusing. It would
be nice to have a heaven's-eye-view of our lives from beginning to
end. Not possible. Faith and trust in God is our only recourse. “We
live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) So
let's allow God to be our GPS for whatever roads we must travel in
the year ahead!
There may be some steep
hills to climb.
Some times where the road
seems treacherous
and you aren't sure which
turns to take.
Times when you feel like
you are on the brink of falling.
And there may be many
curves in the road
as you make your way
through the ups and downs of the coming year.
May you know God's
presence with you through each tunnel,
every steep climb, every
curve
in the beautiful
mountaintop experiences with Him,
and also through the
slippery storms of life.
May He walk with you down
through the valley and up the mountain,
take your hand and guide
you through to His Light,
put a hedge around you to
keep you safe,
help you to find joy and
excitement in the roller coaster ride,
and fill you with
amazement at the beauty He provides along the way.
Take time to smell the
flowers,
to admire His handiwork
along Life's railway.
And may His love flood
over you, fill you, and overflow in praise
to Him for all He's done,
does, and will do! Amazing—isn't He?
Worrying does not
take away Tomorrow's TROUBLES
It takes away
Today's PEACE.
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