We make our home in the wilderness.

There are many things that remind me of this. Like the fact that my car is always dirty, for instance. Or the sound of gun shot in the not-so-far distance that doesn’t even make me jump. And, of course, the wildlife in plain view outside my window at any given moment. When I’m on the inside of the window, and they’re on the outside, it’s beautiful; kind of like a nature movie that plays 24-7.

But I’m not always inside the window.

Well, the house’s window, that is. Sometimes I’m inside my car window. Sometimes I’m driving through the winding roads of our wilderness, enjoying the view. I feel peaceful when I see the herd of horses, or cattle, grazing in their secured pastures, and life is grand.

But they’re not always inside their pastures.

Like just before we left for our trip, and there were two big heifers and a bull at the turn of our road, and they were unaffected by the sound of my horn. I eventually got them to move, but I was 10 minutes late for an appointment. Driving home from the airport the other night, I turned onto our immediate road and my headlights caught two does, a buck, and a random raccoon, all standing together in the middle of it as if they were neighbors congregating for a visit. And yesterday, driving to work, there was a beautiful bloodhound standing in the middle of the road, and it chased my car, right by my door, for the length of three houses before it turned back, giving me a near-heart attack.

Road blocks are funny things. I’ve about decided to start giving myself extra time, not only for the normal road blocks like trains or construction, but for the unexpected ones, too. Sometimes they’re there out of necessity, or cause some temporary inconvenience to provide greater convenience in the future. Other times they keep us safe. But sometimes they show up unannounced, and unpredictable, thrown at us by an enemy looking to trip us up, or even manufactured out of our own fear and insecurity. We have to find new focus to contend with them, and be especially cautious in the navigating.

My advice? Always drive the roads of life with your brights on High Beam. If you keep your eyes trained on exactly where That Light is shining, you’ll make through to where you need to go every time.

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 ESV

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105 ESV