Daddy Bill timed the red lights so that he never had to stop his car. He knew the roads, the intersections, the twists and turns. And he also knew how fast to drive so that the lights were always green.
But my step-father didn’t know what was around that next bend -- the wrecks or the construction or the pedestrians – the unforseens that would cause a kink in his perfect plan.
There was a wreck on the Katy Freeway today that stopped us on our journey to Houston, an inconvenience for travelers on a day’s mission of errands, appointments, shopping, visiting, and baby showers, but a life-changing collision for the men, women, boys, girls, and babies who were involved.
For one group, the wreck was a kink, a pause, a delay in the day; for the other, the collision was life-shattering.
And for me, it was a reminder that the delay in my day can give pause to so much more than an irritation.
A pause to pray for those involved, people I never prayed for before and people who will never know that I prayed for them; not on this earth, anway.
A pause to acknowledge God’s omniscience; that in the twists and turns of each day, He’s the only one who knows what’s around that next bend.
A pause to acknowledge the gift of each moment of life on this earth.
And a pause to be reminded that a road block in my day can be a tragedy in someone else's life.
Daddy Bill’s been with Jesus for ten years now, but he left behind several Daddy Bill sayings. “Eat it up, wear it out, make it do” is one that comes to mind. But I think about him a lot whenever I drive in Houston and breezily pass through a series of green lights. He always timed them as perfectly as anyone could. But when God’s perfect time came to bring Daddy Bill home to be with Jesus, my step-father went peacefully, knowing where he was going and knowing it was going to be green lights forever. And that, too, is a legacy he left behind.
“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you;
he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Do not be afraid;
do not be discouraged”
(Deuteronomy 31:8).
