Little path, Big influence

What is that ahead?

I live in a small town which contains a gas station, a Co-Op, a Post office, a golf course and two bars. Needless to say, there is not much to do there. This forces me to trek across the county line to a larger city that I have grown very fond of in the past eighteen years. It has coffee shops, restaurants, entertainment, my home church and many other things that make it a place I enjoy spending my time. This town is located about twenty minutes from my house and I feel like could have worn a path into the highway between my home and there by now if they did not repave the road. 

Most often times I space out during the seemingly mandatory drive to and from my home. I might listen to music or enjoy the silence, but for the most part nothing exciting happens going to and fro. Sometimes when I am driving home in the dark I hope to see a massive meteorite plummet to the earth right in front of me just to I can say I was there to witness it, but sadly that has never happened. One evening just like any other though, I was driving home after enjoying an evening with some friends. 

I got on the highway that I am so akin with and pressed the accelerator pedal to speed my way back to my home. I turned on some music and settled in for the journey home. As I normally do, I imagine what each one of my fellow road going companions are heading home from or are heading to. One such individual caught my attention very quickly that evening. It was later into the evening on a Friday night and this person was driving very erratically all over the road. I have seen crazy drivers. I have seen new drivers, but this was the very first time that I could say with absolute certainty that I was behind an impaired driver. This was one of the most concerning moments of my life. I actually waited about thirty seconds to see if this person was just distracted and would correct their driving before I called authorities. They were not distracted, so a call to emergency services ensued. 

My father was a volunteer fire fighter when I was younger, so I had heard numerous horror stories of people that made poor choices and ended up paying for it. This gave me a very healthy respect for the people who work in the emergency services field. On this night though, driving behind an impaired driver, I did not hesitate to contact authorities. 

I dialed the dispatcher for the county I was in and explained to him what was happening. While I am explaining to him what is happening, the driver is speeding up, slowing down, swerving between lanes and even getting way to close to the edge of the road. While on the call with the dispatcher, he explained to me that I was not the first person to call in and report this specific car. An unexplainable feeling came over me as I watched this person swerving all over the road. I thought to myself that it is very probable that I could be witness to an accident that could possibly be fatal. I was stressed...I felt helpless and I truly was wanting this nightmare to be over as fast as possible.

The application

Matthew 7:13-14 says, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." 

So many times I find myself wondering where I am heading in my life. I question God about whether I am on the right path and what I need to do to stay on it. For if I do one thing to stray to left or the right I fear that I will step off that narrow path into the road that leads to destruction. Do you ever fear this as well? This has come to the forefront of my mind as I grow older and have more choices placed in front of me that give me ample opportunity to stray to the left or right.

We tend to think about this verse as one that only applies to us as individuals, but looking back upon my time being stressed out behind an impaired driver I wonder if we can't apply this verse to those who we have contact with as well. I imagine God has that same stressed out feeling when He see us straying off the path. If you saw your friend driving off the road, wouldn't you want to get help for them? Wouldn't you want to call up to God, the ultimate authority, and ask Him to watch over your friend in their time of distress. I believe that we are called to do so. We should be praying constantly for those who we see walking down the broad road. 

I am sure you are wondering how this story ends. I am glad to say that I did not bear witness to anything tragic that day. In fact, what I had assumed of this person was completely incorrect. It turned out that the driver was a little old lady that was having a health issue and she was completely lost. I was greatly relieved to learn this and be able to be at peace once again. 

What are you doing to stay on the straight and narrow? What are you doing to guide those you care about along that path with you?

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