Beginning of Year Reflection

 

Two trips. 

Both 6.5 hours according to the GPS. 

Both well over 8 hours in actuality. 

 

The first trip was on a Sunday afternoon and night. 

The second trip was on a Wednesday morning and afternoon. 

The first trip was going south. 

The second trip was going north. 

Both were on I95, which I have learned is one of the most heavily travelled interstates in the country. 

 

The first trip was wrought with 

Heavy, stop-and-go traffic, 

High anxiety, and 

Flared tempers because of the intensity of the drive. 

The second trip was blessed with

Light, moving traffic, 

Normal anxiety, and

Pleasant dispositions because of the ease of travel. 

 

I got out of the car sore, stiff, and with aching hands from clinching the steering wheel after the first trip. 

I got out of the car stiff after the second trip but my hands didn’t ache because I didn’t grip the wheel so hard. 

 

The first trip was all business. 

We stopped to use the restroom, for gas, and for a take-out supper.

The second trip included some fun. 

We stopped to use the restroom, for gas, for drive thru breakfast and lunch,

And to shop at Barnes and Noble. 

 

There were numerous scary traffic moments on the first trip.

There was only one on the second. 

We played a game to ease tension on the first trip.

We didn’t need games to accompany us on the second. 

 

In short, 

The first trip was terrible. 

The second was not. 

 

As we enter a new year, 

We will inevitably face circumstances like the ones I have just described. 

Some will be smooth sailing. 

Others will require waiting. 

Some will be calm. 

Others will be anxiety producing. 

Some will yield to listening. 

Others will give way to yelling. 

Some will be strictly for business. 

Others will be to have some fun. 

 

And through it all, 

God will be…

Even when we don’t sense God’s presence or

Understand what God is doing and 

Wonder if God is doing anything at all, 

God will be…

Goodness, 

Breath, 

Light, 

Peace, and 

Love. 

Always. 

 

Two trips ended my 2025 and brought in my 2026. 

May I—

May we all—

Have the courage to drive the interstates of life in 2026, 

However they greet us, 

On any given day. 

 

Amen.