Stuck On the Parkway!

Last Saturday my sister Lois and her husband Luis were coming to our home to celebrate our Aunt Catherine’s 93^rd birthday.  They live in Spring Valley, NY and thus, have to take the Garden State Parkway all the way down.  On a Saturday afternoon, it is usually an easy ride with little traffic. However, on that day, their one and a quarter hour trip became a four hour plus trip due to an accident.

As they came down the Parkway, they were suddenly brought to a stop just about 15 miles north of our exit.  Apparently, about one mile in front of them, there had just been a big accident.  Soon police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances were on their way.  And, for the next three hours Lois and Luis, along with everyone else who was making their way down the Parkway, were stuck. Just stuck!  Nowhere to go!  Nothing they could do!  They were just stuck! 

It’s a terrible feeling.  Has it ever happened to you? You need to be somewhere, you’ve got something to do, but the traffic has come to a stop—or you find yourself home sick in bed or your child has an emergency…or…etc.  Something has come along interrupting your plans, stopping you in your tracks, and there is nothing you can do about it. All you can do is wait it out and hope for the best.  You are stuck!

Worse yet, is when we begin to feel as if our lives themselves are stuck. Sometimes we get to a place in life wherein we feel as if we are not going anywhere; we have begun to lose our sense of direction and purpose.  Maybe some things in life have not turned out the way you once thought they would. It might be that the routine of life has become just that, too routine.  You may have lost your vision for the future and hope for what might be. You have begun to feel as if you are unable to move forward in life. You feel stuck!

I don’t believe God wants us to live our lives stuck. Rather, God wants to continually move us forward.  He wants to continually grow us, bless through us, and use us to help build his kingdom.  He has something ahead for each of his children. Yes, sometimes he brings us to a place wherein we need to slow down a bit and maybe hear from him. But, he doesn’t want us to feel stuck. Rather, he wants to use the pauses in life to strengthen us and prepare us for our next step forward. 

“…but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31 – NIV)

Don’t allow the situations of your life to tell you, you are stuck. Rather, allow God to work in your life—even in the middle of the traffic jams of life—to prepare you for what is ahead.  After all, every traffic jam eventually comes to an end and you will once again begin to move forward!

Have a great day!

Pastor Tim Harris