Releasing (Travel Mercy Please)
Disclaimer: This blog might be a little too much information.
This week and last week, I had to organize everything to get ready to go traveling for the weekend (Labor Day Weekend). All was well, up until Friday afternoon of last week, when an appointment that had been scheduled for Tuesday was changed to Friday. This appointment had been made two months in advance. That was unfortunate, because when I travel from one home to the other, it is a good 2.5 hour drive and I like to leave precisely by 10:00AM. This affords me the ability to bypass all the traffic spots. Well I had to travel this weekend due to a special event which will take place on Saturday. It is the Labor Day Weekend. So, the appointment was scheduled for 12:30PM. I thought to myself, already 2.5 hours behind schedule. When we got to the appointment today, luckily they took us in early, but actually didn't get started until 12:30PM. However, it was a rapid appointment and we were out by 1:00PM. Then there was the 15 minute drive home. By the time I left it was maybe 1:40PM. I was doomed to hit traffic. All I had to do to leave was just load up my dress and baggage.
I was driving down the freeway making excellent time, all of a sudden I was in dead stop in traffic. Which is usual for the Oakland area, but it didn't let up and there appeared to me more semi trucks than usual. Once we got through an overpass, that's when the traffic really halted. To make a long story short, the 2.5 hour drive took 6.5 hours. At one point Siri asked if I wanted to cut 30 minutes off my drive and to approve if yes. I thought about it for a minute, because I've been fooled by her before. By this time my 2.5 hour drive had increased to 3.5 hours. So I took the detour -- four hours later instead of 30 minutes saved, I finally got back on the freeway and it was moving freely again. I had only 1.5 hours left to destination -- which like I said ended up being a 6.5 hour trip. Luckily for me, an hour and a half into my trip, before proceeding to the route, I stopped for a bathroom break (which I had to use a disgusting men's bathroom) due to the women's being occupied by a woman who took her sweet time and my bladder was about to explode. The sweet lady behind me, told me to go into the men's bathroom after her son exited. So I was happy to oblige that offer. She saw me clutching my purse extra hard and doing the dance.
During this extended travel time, I heard from several of my family members. One was my cousin inquiring about varnishing an acrylic painting she had done and she wanted to preserve it. That's when I told her where I was going and what the traffic was like. I asked her to pray for me, because I was getting very frustrated with my new estimated arrival time. She also gave me some sweet scripture to recite as I drove along. I was listening to worship music, so I was already relying on the Good Lord to get me safely to my destination. I knew between her prayers and mine, I would be in good hands. After settling on the fact that I would be driving for a long time, I just released it and gave it to God. The trip was more bearable and the semi truck drivers, they were extra nice to me and would let me in every time I put on my blinker to move over. I messaged my oldest son that I have resolved that these long trips probably aren't a good idea for me anymore. Not because of today only.
Several months back, I was driving Northern. I had left at 10:00AM, my standard time for a safe trip home with minimal traffic. Well this particular weekend was the Oakland Marathon. So my dear friend Siri navigated me into the boonies and took me into a far round about way through Petaluma to get to my destination near San Francisco. But the drive in between, there were no stops. Not a one!!! So, of course being of an older generation, my bladder was giving out. I tried to get the next gas station on Siri, anything, but nothing came up, because there wasn't anything. Finally when I was in an isolated area, I pulled into a little pull in driveway. I looked around to see if there were any random outhouses or anything. I made sure there weren't any people either. But there was nothing. Then panic set in. If I didn't do my duty, my fairly new car seat was about to get ruined. Then I got this masterful idea. I had a whole bunch of dirty clothes from the weekend. They were in a Target bag. If I line my seat with the Target bag and stack my clothes high and sit on it, I could relieve myself on it. Well being of unsound mind with a shy bladder, it wasn't as easy as I thought. So I started driving again (listening to worship music -- always worship music) trying to relax. By this time, I thought my bladder had burst inside, because I felt a little relief and a lot of pain. Then I started crying. I called my partner and told him that I might have to stop at a hospital, because I think I popped my bladder. Of course he was very sympathetic and told me to pull over. I decided to keep driving. At one point, I was able to eliminate a little more. As soon as I got to my garage door, I really had to go and ran into the bathroom. I'm happy to say that my seat did not get ruined and I immediately washed myself and all my laundry. I can also report, I did not pop my bladder. So, in my opinion, I think it might be time to figure out another means of transportation when it comes to lengthy trips. They haven't been working out for me lately. These particular two times I was driving alone, which I really don't like to do.
As I made my venture this weekend and was in that four hour line (pictured above), I wondered if there would be lines in heaven where we would have to wait our turn. I've seen depictions of heaven, where the righteous are lined up walking up stairs. They were lined up. So then I told myself, maybe my slow long drive was to teach me patience to prepare me for heaven. I was frustrated at first, but then that feeling faded. I know I was praying the whole time and then got my cousin involved. Then because I'm studying about giving up control and releasing things to God. So my focus changed from what was happening to how I should be taking what was happening in stride and let God handle it. So He did!!!
If I were to rate my response to impatience between these two trips, the first one several months back, I would get a "D". Today's was probably more a "B-". I'm getting better, but again, I think I need to rethink how I travel for future events as my old body can't handle the long drives anymore and I like having restroom accommodations along my routes. Now I can't eat a meal at all or drink too much water when I travel to cut down on the stops and detours. I sometimes will snack on trail mix to hold me over. I used to be able to travel with ease when I was young.
Psalm 46:10 -- "Be still and know that I am God."
1 Peter 5:7 -- "Cast all your anxiety on Him, because he cares for you."
As my children were growing up, in church we learned a song about patience. (Link Below)
Comments
Post a Comment