Roadwork Ahead

I drive along a stretch of highway to get to and from work. And this may be true of every highway, but it seems like there is always roadwork happening, even in the small stretch that I cover every day.

The other day I was driving home and had to slow down in the roadwork zone - and it seemed like a really long stretch that they were working on and all the cars had to file through slowly down to a single lane.

About halfway through the roadwork section I saw a big yellow sign that read "Roadwork Ahead". And stuck over that big sign was another smaller sign, also reading "Roadwork Ahead." So in case I hadn't already noticed I was in roadwork, or if the big sign didn't catch my attention, there was also the small sign to let me know - there's roadwork.

I laughed to myself about it for a second, and then God spoke to me through it (Or 'Jesus Juked' me if you will - see Jon Acuff's blog 'Stuff Christians Like' for an interpretation of that) - in the way that God can speak to us through anything.

There is roadwork ahead in my life. And though I laughed at the seemingly redundant signs on the road, I unfortunately often need that sort of thing in my life. I don't notice what's going on all around me. Then I miss the big yellow signs. Until finally I hear God's still, small voice, and I finally realise what's going on.

I have felt recently, and even for the past few years that I am in a rest period of my life, in training for something to come. And I often get impatient to charge ahead, even though I'm not ready.

So for the past three years I have been trying to remember that God is training me, healing me from things, preparing me so that I am ready for what is to come. Then this year I felt like I was ready for more - not that I will ever be done with God teaching me and training me and causing me to grow. But I felt like I was ready for more now.... and things started to happen, but not in the way I expected. I still felt like this wasn't the 'more' he had been telling me was coming. I felt like he was still telling me to rest and be patient.

And then I saw these roadwork signs, and realised something I hadn't thought of before. Not only has he been preparing me for things to come, he has been working on the road as well. And there is roadwork ahead. Foundations have to be laid, things put in place. I can't just charge ahead - sometimes we need to slow down, go in single file, because if we go too fast before things are ready it can be dangerous and damaging.

God is doing some roadwork. And while I am moving, now - I'm driving along the road, rather than sitting in my car in the garage - it's still time to go slow. To still be patient. Because when he's finished the roadwork, things are going to go back to a crazy, multi-lane highway and I've got to be ready to take that on!

Note: Since writing this intially, I've had a chance to see more aspects at work. There are many stages we can be at and roles we can play. Sometimes our car is in the garage waiting to drive. Sometimes we are in the slow lane, waiting for the roadworks to be done. Sometimes, we are the ones helping to do those roadworks and prepare the way for others.

I think we can be called to any and all of those things, even at the same time. You are not tossed aside once one job is done. And neither are any of those roles idle. You may be called to rest in God, but that doesn't mean you are doing nothing.

Where do you think you are on God's highway at the moment? Doing the roadworks, repairs in the garage, in the slow lane, or full speed ahead?