See, having lived in big cities for the last 10 years, I don't drive much. I like driving, though, and I am learning there are lots of life analogies on the road. Call me a road scholar. :) Anyway, this evening God shared with me about speed, relativity, and comparision.
At this hour, there weren't many other vehicles besides mine. There were mostly semi trucks who weren't allowed to drive faster than 55 MPH. I, on the other hand, was allowed to go 70 MPH. Every now and then the road would quiet down except for 1 or 2 other cars. Even though I rarely deviated from my speed, the way I felt about my progress varied based on the cars around me. When the other cars were going faster than I was, I felt like I was practically sitting still! When it was me and the trucks, I felt like I was making headway. When I was alone, I felt fairly neutral, especially since it was dark and I couldn't see the scenery whizzing by.
But even in light of what I couldn't see, God showed me something. There was another indicator of my progress. I could look at the speedometer and mile markers' decreasing. This was constant, and a much more certain sign of progress.
So there were two things I could have used to decide how well I was progressing. I could have either looked at the vehicles around me in a given moment and let it sway my emotions. I could have looked at the other speeding cars and said, "I am going too slowly, and I will never get where I am going at this speed!" This could have caused me to speed, which may not sound like a big deal, but it is. The speed limits are formed by consideration of a road's curve sharpness, traffic, and other factors. The limits formed are the safe speed at which you can travel. I could have sped up and ended up in an accident, or with a speeding ticket! Or I may have ended up safe, but knowing that I dishonored an authority God had put in place. Dishonoring one authority opens you up to dishonoring further authority and can bring much harm on your life.
So I could have based my feelings of progress on what others were doing.
Or I could have looked at what I knew to be fact. I knew I was moving forward at 70 MPH, and no matter what my surroundings looked like, that was true. I knew that a few minutes ago I was not as far a as I am now. I knew that if I continued doing what I was doing, I would make it to Redding in the prescribed amount of time, because I had done it once before.
In the end, I drew upon the facts and my own prior experience rather than concerning myself with how things seemed, or with what others were doing. It resulted in a peaceful, safe, and productive drive.
So how can we apply this to our everyday lives? If you are like me, you are tempted to measure your progress based on others' lives. I remember various stages of life where this came into play. I recall being 14 and fully content, but reading magazines implying that all healthy teen girls had love interests. I then began convincing myself to like guys, forgetting that it takes time to get to know someone if you are basing relationships on more than the physical.
Then there was the time in my 20's where I was tempted to measure my career progress by that of my peers. With some plans to start a ministry, I'd chosen an Executive Assistant job in the nonprofit world. I wanted to get a bird's eye view of business operations. One day while setting an appointment for our CEO, I saw that a woman with whom I'd gone to college was the Executive Director of her organization. I was tempted to feel like, as an assistant, I was way behind where I should have been.
But in all of this we need to shut off the "It seems like" and go with the "It is." In the first case, the "it is" was that I was a well rounded teen girl. I had interests I was pursuing, and those things mattered to me. Magazines were there to sell copies and entice, not to tell us how to love deeply and live honestly. In the second case, God had led me on a career path that was for me. As someone pursuing entrepreneurship and ministry, I first learned to serve in a business. I learned how not to make it all about me, and how to meet people's needs. That, in God's economy, is Business Training 101. Serve people on a small scale, then serve them on a grand scale. As for my college peer, who knows what her calling was? We are different people, and it doesn't actually matter!
Isn't is freeing that we get to live the life that best suits us? One person's path requires college right out of high school while another will grow better by traveling, working, or getting married. One person's calling is facilitated by early marriage and childbearing, while someone else gets married and has kids later, once some foundations in their lives and family are established.
You are as unique as a grain of sand on the seashore, so don't worry about the paths of those in front of you. Let God do the intricate work He's doing in you, and remind yourself of the facts! Enjoy the journey, and know it will lead you to where you ought to be!
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