theROCK

Rough Road Ahead

Every morning as I drive to work, I make a left turn on to Center Street. I travel about fifty feet and then I see a big orange sign on the side of the road: Rough Road Ahead. Center Street is in bad shape, with lots of bumps and flaws in the asphalt. Drivers take the sign very seriously, and they are prepared to swerve or dodge the various obstacles. The sign doesn’t make the road easier to drive. But what it does it help prepare the cars for the journey ahead.

I think I need a big orange sign for Lent 2019: Rough Road Ahead. I always feel like I start strong. Ash Wednesday is filled with big plans and strategies for the best Lent ever. But then I hit a pothole or a bump in the road. Soon I’m driving on the wrong side of the street, and often times I’m taking a completely different route than I intended.

But my sign will help prepare me. I know that I will have good days and rough days over the next 40. I know that I will not accomplish everything that I set out to do. And that’s okay. I’m ready to swerve a bit, ready to slow down and adjust my speed. This Lent, I’ll lay out my course, but I’ll be ready to take a quick side street. I’ll set my Cruise Control, but I’ll be prepared to put my foot on the brake and slow things down. Ultimately, my sign will help me relax a bit and help me to be prepared for the ride. It will help relax and guide me to my destination without frustration.

I’m ready for my journey, rough roads and all.

Sticking with Love

“I’m concerned about a better world. I’m concerned about justice; I’m concerned about brotherhood and sisterhood; I’m concerned about truth. And when one is concerned about that, he can never advocate violence. For through violence you may murder a murderer, but you can’t murder murder. Through violence you may murder a liar, but you can’t establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can’t murder hate through violence. Darkness cannot put out darkness; only light can do that.

And I say to you, I have also decided to stick with love, for I know that love is ultimately the only answer to humankind’s problems. And I’m going to talk about it everywhere I go. I know it isn’t popular to talk about it in some circles today. And I’m not talking about emotional bosh when I talk about love; I’m talking about a strong, demanding love. For I have seen too much hate and I say to myself that hate is too great a burden to bear. I have decided to love. If you are seeking the highest good, I think you can find it through love.

And the beautiful thing is that we aren’t moving wrong when we do it, because John was right, God is love.”

A portion of a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered over 50 years ago.

Quo Vadis

Recently I took a trip to a small town in central Wisconsin. I was headed to farm country, a beautiful part of the state filled with enormous hills and valleys. I typed the numbers and street into the Map app on my phone, only to discover that the address did not exist. I knew it was right, I double and triple checked it before I left. But this address simply did not exist in the GPS world. So I put in a nearby city, something to get me close to where I needed to be.

Needless to say, this was not a relaxing trip. The entire time I kept wondering if I was on the right road, heading in the right direction, driving my car to the place I needed to be. 

Quo Vadis. It’s a Latin phrase roughly meaning “where are you going?” What have you programmed into your internal GPS? Do you have a specific destination in mind, or are you traveling someplace nearby? Too often in life we simply move without thinking. We react instead of carefully planning our routes. To live a life of faith means having one clear destination, one detailed map that guides everything we do. It’s the only way we can be guaranteed that we’re on the right road, heading in the right direction, and getting where we need to be.

Ask yourself today: Quo Vadis? Then start programming your own personal GPS.