“Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Take heed to the path of your feet, then all your ways will be sure.” –Proverbs 4:25-26
As a 19-year-old college student, I had a less than perfect driving record. One day while leaving work a co-worker offered me a cupcake for her birthday; I politely accepted, stuck it in a bowl and headed out the door. While getting in my car I realized I had no good place to put it, I noticed my dash board was flat, so I stuck it there and headed back to my house. I pulled up to the stop light waiting for the light to turn; my phone rang, I put it on speaker phone, and was chatting away- like any 19-year-old girl. The green arrow finally appeared. I started to turn the corner to my street and the cupcake started to fall.
I was trying so hard to catch the cupcake with the delicious mountain of pink frosting. I so wanted to keep from making a gigantic mess on my floorboard, and maintain my conversation that I didn’t see how close to the curb I really was. I soon lost control of my car, hit a curb, and popped my tire. I exited the car in tears, changed my tire and headed to the tire shop.
Slowly they took apart and tried to repair my car. Each time the mechanic came to me, it was to tell me they’d found more broken parts and it would cost me more money. When all was said and done, the replacement parts and labor were over $600! The cupcake couldn’t have been more than $6! Surely having my carpet cleaned and replacing the cupcake would have been so much less expensive, if only I had focused on the road in front of me rather than trying to save my cupcake!
So many times in life, we take our focus off the road in front of us to look at distractions on the side. The race of life is filled with plenty of obstacles. We don’t need to further complicate the drive. What are those things that are keeping you from your focus on the road ahead? Perhaps today is a good day to remove a distraction from your dashboard.
Mandi Moon, St. Luke’s Children Center
