Get out of the way !

How many times have you either silently said or outright exclaimed "get out of the way" when driving in traffic?  Or perhaps, if you are a dog person like I am, have you said that to Fido when he walks right in front of you and almost trips you because he is happy that you may be taking him somewhere?  Worse yet, perhaps you have said that to one of your kids that is hanging right over you to watch you do something that, to him, is really interesting and neat.

At a recent service at my church, there was one of those special services that just ripped through my heart.  The message was one of such affirmation for the life I have chosen to follow that this particular Sunday became more than a Sunday...it became a Bawl day.  This was especially since the message was followed by communion and then baptism for some new believers.  It was one of those special moments in time when my heart was completely absent of any hardness at all...none...zilch.  There was nothing there but an awe inspiring feeling of love, belonging, and joy.

The message started with a series of questions asking if we wondered where our lives would be now "if only"... .  That was followed with a discussion of how much the choices we make in our lives affect our outcomes, and thus...where we are now vs where we could have been.  It wasn't, though it could have gone there, a message about lost hopes, and missed opportunities (after all, we all  have those in our past don't we?) but rather a lesson of promise and hope because God is always working for us and in us if we let Him do so. 

As I was trying to get to sleep that evening, I was praying joyfully and thankfully for where I am right now as opposed to those times in my life when I was on the darker side.  That period of time when the road upon which I was traveling was leading me nowhere.  That time when there was very little hope and joy in my life.  And I was reveling in the fact that I now know where my future is, where this road I am now traveling on will lead me.

And then it struck me, as I was thinking about the fact that I know there will be pitfalls, detours, obstacles, and blind spots during my journey that all I really need to do now, as I go down that road, is to get out of the way of myself and simply follow Jesus there.  He will get me through those rough spots and pitfalls, and He will lead me right to the perfect destination for the end of my life. 

I just need to get out of the way.  Don't we all?