We’re traveling down a stretch of pavement we don’t drive often. We don’t see it in the road up ahead. If we had, we’d have made an adjustment. But because we weren’t prepared, suddenly there’s a thump, a jolt, a shudder, an expletive, and we know we’ve hit one. A pothole.
It’s a terrible feeling, a worrisome event. We do our best to avoid them. And we know they’re out there. Some stretches are pocked with them. It seems they appear almost overnight. In heavy traffic, falling into one might be virtually inescapable. All in all, one of life’s more unpleasant experiences for those of us blessed with a vehicle and a driver’s license. Hitting a pit. That could perhaps be considered a fitting metaphor for life itself.
Seldom do we cruise smoothly for long. We try to do our best, to live a good life, to be a nice person, to play by the rules but, without warning, an unforeseen pit opens up and we tumble in. Unanticipated physical issues probably top the list. Cancer. Stroke. Heart attack. Multiple operations. Irreversible injuries. No one plans for any of those. We can do our best to prevent them, but our efforts cannot guarantee our immunity. There are other pits we might fall into without receiving notice of the looming precipice. Divorce. Termination of employment. Addiction. Our partner’s death. A child’s errant behavior. Forced relocation. Nobody signs up for any of these either. We might do all we can to avoid them, but life entangled in relationships is often an unpredictable journey.
Where’s the repair crew when we need it? Who do we turn to when we are jolted by the unexpected? How might our nerves be soothed and our journey be smoothed with the ruts leveled out and the potholes plugged up? Is it even possible to travel through life without hitting some pits along the way?
The words of an old gospel song could offer a splash of hope if not a drop of annoyance. Lord, don’t move the mountain, but give me strength to climb it. Please don’t move that stumbling block, but lead me, Lord, around it. Hope, yes, because we do have a source of help beyond ourselves. But annoyance as well, because climbing is hard work and stumbling can be painful. And we’re not big fans of either. The song continues: The way may not be easy. You didn’t say that it would be. For when my tribulations get too light I tend to stray from Thee. So, the pits we hit could have a potentially positive purpose? Ouch. Or thanks?
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