The yellow brick road...

This is where the argument began on the road home from a much needed vacation. We all have a certain vision of a vacation. Mine of course is the vacation. It does not include the transportation to and fro with due reason. I get car sick. Very sick. I get anxiety just thinking about traveling as a passenger to and from the destination planned. Anyone else out there like me with the same issue? I have to sit in the front seat, usually in the drivers seat to prevent this illness of motion sickness. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but regardless, my family is very aware of the situation.



Well traveled highways are my favorite roads not the road less traveled. Straight, smooth roads not the curvy, hilly or scenic routes seem to be in my favor. I would love to enjoy the view from those curvy, tree laden small town roads but my head would spend most of the time in a bucket regurgitating any small town famous foods that I would have enjoyed previous to the moment. So, with that in mind I do not purposely travel the road less traveled with reason.



It's time to go home from a spring break trip. Time to climb back into the car and hit the road in the wee hours of the morning to avoid the traffic. My husband climbs into the drivers seat, I am happy about this decision because due to his snoring the night before I was only afforded 3 hours of sleep for our 11 hour journey. I just knew I would fall asleep quickly once the car got rollin. It didn't take long, maybe 10 minutes I was out only to be awaken by a small curve in the road. Curve? What curve? How could there be a curve in the road on that straight highway?




My husband pulled a quick one and he thought I wouldn't notice after all, I was asleep. Let me express to those of you who do not experience motion sickness that by experiencing a mere curve in the road makes me feel as if I have just came down with the flu, the stomach flu. I do not know what was worse, my flu like symptoms or my anger. I don't even know if it was anger as much as it was rage. We switch positions quickly and I drove the rest of the way, did I mention by the way with only three hours of sleep?




How dare he!!!! I completely was taken by surprise and so was he when I expressed my dissatisfaction with him the whole way home. I was not nice, but then again, neither was he. Now I don't want to hang my laundry out in the open, so to speak, but I was a miserable
passenger and a miserable driver due to my lack of energy. How could he? Who was he thinking of in the midst of this road map change?




So, I got to thinking that how could he possibly know what it is like to feel sick every time you get in the car. Maybe he was just thinking he would get us home quicker since it was the less traveled road and we would arrive at our destination sooner. (side note: it took us several hours longer) Maybe he wasn't being purposely manipulative to drive the way he wanted to drive, maybe he was thinking about us the whole time he change our course of direction. Maybe I was not looking at his true intention which was a well less traveled road. You know, less cars, less traffic, quicker, safer way home.




Why did I jump to conclusions? I guess one could say I really didn't jump to conclusions but my stomach spoke for me. My stomach is the one that jumped.




The road less traveled...it is easy to always follow in the path of others, not stepping out of line or doing something different. It takes courage and honor to have a belief so strong that one risks being considered different just because he follows the road less traveled.




It was hard for Peter, Jesus' apostle to admit to those who asked him if he was a follower of Jesus. He who promised Jesus that he would stand by his side actually denied Him three times before Jesus' death. Personal, individual accounts of one's own perspective may differ from the next. We must stand to listen, not judge as Peter feared of those who questioned him.




Hearing and listening.

I questioned my husband about his intent, but I didn't listen. He hears of my experiences, but doesn't listen. We were both wrong. We thought we were both right. Our journey was a long journey. I think about what could have been versus what it was that day we traveled home. How often do we mis-communicate our intents and how often do we hear and not listen?



Peter was very sad when he denied Jesus the third time. I was sad I denied my husband love on our journey home. I denied Jesus on that yellow brick road.



Hear ye Hear Ye, but listen as well!