Thursday’s Reflection

By Mark L.

Be pleased, O God, to deliver me;

O Lord, make haste to help me.

Let those who seek my life be ashamed

and altogether dismayed;

Let those who take pleasure in my misfortune

draw back and be disgraced.

Let those who say to me “Aha!” and gloat over me turn back, 

because they are ashamed.

Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;

let those who love your salvation say forever,

“Great is the Lord!”

–Psalm 70:1-4

There is a lot of enemy talk in the Psalms.  I have been slowly reading them, one by one, and I’ve been surprised how much prayer energy the Psalmist devotes to those who mean to do him wrong.

I think it is an indicator of what a blessed life I lead that most of my prayers (and even my thoughts) concern people I love or respect, or people I want to have love or respect me more than they currently do.  While some people annoy me at times, I tend not to think about them as enemies, unless we are talking about…

…TRAFFIC.

When it comes to traffic, I am right there with the Psalmist, calling on God to deliver me from my fellow motorists.

Consider the enormous, jacked-up pickup truck that swerves across three lanes to cut right in front of me.  Maybe you have seen him.  May that driver be altogether dismayed.

Then there is the motorcyclist who rides on the lane line between stopped cars when traffic is at a standstill, just so he can get in front of everyone else.  He is wearing a helmet, and his visor is completely reflective, but underneath all of that, he is gloating at me.  Don’t ask me how I know – I can just tell.  May he turn back in shame.  

And don’t get me started on construction.  Somewhere, somehow, the workers who set up all of those orange cones and barrels on every conceivable street in my neighborhood are taking pleasure in my misfortune.  I shake a righteous fist at them and call for their disgrace.

What is it about traffic that gets me so fired up?  Why do I take everything so personally, when I have never even seen any of these people before in my life?

I am learning that taking a second to think about God helps put things back in perspective.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).  All your heart, all your soul, and all your mind does not leave a lot left over to worry about the person who cut you off.  It’s such a small thing in comparison to God’s majesty and love.  Just slow down and let him go.

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).  My fellow drivers are a lot like me.  As they drive, they carry with them their hopes, their anxieties, their distractions, and their fatigue – just like I do.  Only the grace of God that keeps me from driving so carelessly (most days, anyway).

And when I am most frustrated, I try to remember what I really want out of a fraught traffic situation when I am in my best frame of mind:

Lord, please keep me alert and respectful, and please let everyone reach their destination safely.

Please drive carefully and charitably, especially as you visit loved ones in the upcoming holiday season.