I CAN STILL REMEMBER MY FIRST DRIVING LESSON when my in-structor yelled at me for slowing down and almost stopping while merging from a freeway on-ramp. “DON’T SLOW DOWN!” he yelled, his feet try-ing to peddle the car faster through the floorboard. I learned my lesson that day, but not without increasing the sweat factor on my palms.
Now, after almost 35 years of lane-changes and on-ramp merging, it has become second nature to me. Don’t slow down when endeavoring to change lanes on the freeway, keep moving at speed, look for the open-ing, signal my intent to merge and then make my move smoothly and de-liberately. As with driving, so too with life.
Personally, when on the freeway I like to pick my lane, set the cruise control and do as little lane-changing as possible. I kind of like my life that way as well. Oh, that it were that easy. Sometimes one just has to change lanes.
Today, a lane change is about to take place. Larry and Madreen Bar-nes are moving on down the freeway of life to a new home in the Sacra-mento area. It was so comfortable with them here. I really do want them to stay. I really don’t look forward to “switching lanes.” But, we are not given that option, we cannot just stop in the middle of the freeway, in fact, even slowing down would not be a safe proposal. If we are being called to change lanes, then we must do it up to speed. Sure, it would be easier just to keep the cruise control on and pretend that everything is just going to be the same, but that’s not a safe way to drive.
We are going to greatly miss Larry and Madreen; their part in our church family shall not be replaced. Yes, there will be others to do the various ministries that they have done over the past three decades, but no one shall take their place. And yet, we shall continue to travel on the road the Lord has placed before us, as will they, just in different lanes. And I am sure there will be lots of times that we shall pull up next to each other, roll down the window and exchange our traveling stories, and of course there is that final destination where we shall gather, and what a destination that will be.
Larry and Madreen, see ya down the road.