Having just
traveled almost 6,000 miles from Lancaster to Yaak, Montana, has convinced me
of one major reality. Most roads seem to be under construction. Some of the
construction created minor inconveniences as one whizzed through the posted
modified speed limit at 65 mph in the great expanses of Montana. Others were more
annoying, limping along at 45-55 mph through good portions of the Ohio
Turnpike. I realize roads need to be repaired. However, I just couldn’t get
past the fact that many of the construction zones seemed to be construction-less.
After 10 miles or so in a reduced lane and speed construction zone, suddenly a
sign would appear reading, “End of construction.” I would comment to my wife,
“Did I miss something? What construction?”
There were on the other hand roads that
were clearly undergoing major construction. In those areas your teeth rattled
as you traversed a gravel washboard that seemed designed by car manufacturers
to test the structural integrity of the car and challenge the warranties on the
tires. At the end of those stretches where the sign read “End of construction,”
I wanted to jump out and scrawl, “Congratulations you made it!”
There were several spots where the
reconstruction of the road was so major that you had to follow a “pilot car or
truck” that carried an affixed sign “Follow me.” In these areas, if you were
unfortunate enough to have missed the last convoy, you just opened the windows,
shut off the engine, got comfortable, and waited. Patience was not always my
strongest trait on those occasions and I would get out of the car and walk
around. If I was close enough to the person holding the walkie-talkie and the
reversible “stop and slow” sign, I’d try and get a look at their face to see if
there was a hope of moving soon. I realized it was pointless to try and speak
with them. I really got concerned when they looked at their watch and then
looked around for something to occupy their time while they waited. That was a
sure sign the “pilot car” was not showing up any time soon.
It was on a route in Iowa that we ran into
a series of these “pilot car” stoppages. The first few were only about 10-15
minutes long. The last one in the series was looking like we were going to be
there long enough that we could break out a barbeque and grill up a few
burgers. Finally in the distance we saw dust in the air, giving us hope that
the wait was soon over. We started the engine, closed the windows, and waited
for our turn to join the caravan following the “pilot car.”
Our “pilot car” pulled into a turn off and
the cars and trucks that had followed him passed by kicking up dust and pebbles
as they were released from their caravan. Then the “pilot car” pulled in front
of us and there was the sign, “Follow me.” We started but suddenly encountered
several tractor trailers hauling grading equipment with dump trucks following
close behind. The “pilot car” veered for a ditch and we tried to reverse and
squeeze as fast as possible to the right hoping the truck drivers had won the Iowa
Truckers Rodeo for excellence in driving. The trucks flew past and no one was
harmed. The “pilot car” inched back out to the gravel roadway. You could see
the driver craning his neck to see as far as he could while the road worker
holding the “slow” sign yelled into her walkie-talkie. I am glad that I did not
hear what was being expressed.
A lesson was learned that afternoon. Just
because someone advertises they are a “pilot car” and you are to “follow them”
doesn’t mean you are safe in doing so. They have limitations and one is only a
good pilot if they know the reality of what lies ahead. Now I do not know how
things got mixed up on that road in Iowa, but I do know that I followed the
next “pilot cars” a bit further back. I had no desire to be a hood ornament on
some tractor trailer.
In a similar way there are lots of people
who make the claim that you should follow them. Some are politicians who claim
they have the solution to the world’s problems and you can trust and follow
them. Some are popular personalities that assure you that they have all of life
figured out and that if you listen to them your life will be hunky-dory. Some
are people of certain religious persuasions that try and convince you that they
have the key to life both now and the life to come. So what is one to do? The
writer of Proverbs even warns, “There is a path before each person that seems
right, but it ends in death” (14:12). So is it hopeless and we simply abandon
all “pilots” and strike out on our own?
There is another alternative. Pick a
“pilot” that is perfectly reliable and has demonstrated that reliability to the
ones he leads. For me the perfect “pilot” is my creator, sustainer, lover and
redeemer. He demonstrated his love for me that while I was on a path to certain
destruction He died for me making it possible to be piloted away from that
disaster (Romans 5:8). His character is marked by truth and not deception (John
14:6). My response to a “pilot” like this must be, “Trust in the Lord with all
your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to
him, and he will make your paths straight” (Provers 3:5-6).
Soon I travel to Maine. I may encounter a
“pilot car” along the way. However, what really gives me confidence in life’s
journeys is that I have a “divine pilot” who will lead me perfectly all the
way, even into eternity.
