No thanks--I'd rather have boysenberry!

I have to admit, that "traffic jam" is my least favorite kind of jam in all the world. This photo was taken from the passenger seat of our van just a few weeks ago, on a very sunny day, when my husband was driving me to Office Depot to get a new ribbon for our printer. We were totally out of black ink, and I desperately needed to print something. So, my hero came to the rescue, and drove us to the store, when he truly just wanted to get home and be done with driving for the day.

There are some who feel that "no good deed goes unpunished," a rather gruesome and cynical way of looking at life, in my estimation. However, when we ran into a traffic jam that looked like it was going to be endless, I began to fret. My husband can be incredibly patient--but it had been a very long day, and the last thing either of us wanted was to be stuck on the road waiting for the vehicle owners to remember that the gas pedal is the one on the right. I sighed and shot up a silent prayer, hoping for the best.

We crawled up the road slowly, a few inches at a time. And then we saw the flashing lights, the flipped over car, the fire truck, two police cars, some people standing on the road, and a paramedic vehicle. It was ugly, to say the least. Life in a fallen world. Shot up another prayer, and once we got past the wreck, people began to drive as if they knew how once again.
"Why, why? Tell me that it's human nature..." It's human nature to stare at car wrecks, train wrecks, and ring your hands in despair. Despair can become an ugly giant. "I would have despaired, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord, in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord, be strong let your heart take courage, yes, wait on the Lord."

That's the best counsel I can give, when your carefully laid plans get disrupted, by the worst kind of jam, a traffic jam. Pray, and wait. Be thankful that you can still move. Pray for the rescue crew, and for those needing rescue. Slow down, while you are at it. Be careful out there, please! The rainy season is just starting, so don't be in a rush. People who love you deeply will miss you greatly, if you act foolishly behind the wheel.