Black Ice

I was sitting in church a few Sundays ago and the pastor was telling a story about a parishioner who sold semi-trucks for a living.  My ears were immediately perked, both sides of my family have made a lifetime of either buying, selling, or driving semi-trucks.

The pastor said in the winter, when business was the slowest for this guy, he would often drive hauls from Texas to Kansas.  The toughest part, the parishioner told him, was if you found yourself driving over 'black ice.'  The man said there's nothing scarier than looking in your side mirror and watching your trailer coming to meet your cab sideways.

The pastor asked him, "What do you do when that happens?  How do you fix it?"  

The man said, "Well, the worst thing you can do is stop.  You don't put on your breaks.  You keep your hands on the wheel, look straight ahead, and hope that the trouble behind you straightens itself out."

Those words resonated with me.  It struck me because of how much worry I put into things that either work themselves out without my help or ultimately I have no control over.  That worry that can leave me paralyzed, stopping my life, and keeping me from looking ahead. I realized (or am realizing) I'm not the fixer.  I'm not the one who has to figure everything out and make it right for everyone.  I'm not in control.  My job is to keep my hands on the wheel, heading in the direction God has put me, and trust that the trouble behind me stays behind me.  And, if when that trouble comes to greet me I have to continue to trust and know that God's plan for me isn't one that I write but rather one that I live.