We were driving on Route 74 from Perry County south toward Carlisle, PA. That is meaningful only to local folks, I realize. What you other folks should know is that there is a mountain that separates the two counties. A lot of things are said in jest about Perry County, usually involving dental issues, indoor plumbing and the like. Truth is that Perry County is very up to date. Most of the outhouses have electric lights and everything.
Anyway, we're coming down the mountain, which by Pennsylvania standards is steep, and we see two colors of smoke coming from just off the road ahead. Black and gray. The black is always the color of smoke that worries me. You know that black smoke means there's something burning that SHOULDN'T be. And then the traffic stopped. Hmm. How long would this take? It was all four Sandstroms in our minivan, and being stopped with the boys is never fun. As if I weren't impatient enough, trying to keep myself calm and to keep two bored boys from killing each other is never a picnic. Fortunately we had Sheri's quick thinking to keep us from creating any other clouds of smoke on the mountain that day. So we sat. And we sat. And then the fire trucks started arriving. This is a remote area without hydrants, so the trucks were the tanker kind. We knew it wasn't a good situation.
You know that feeling, even if the circumstances are different. Can't go on. Can't go back. Foreign territory. It's not exactly like we were Lewis and Clark, but it felt a little like that, I guess. Out there where we didn't know the area, and stuck. Just plain stuck.
After quite a while of sitting, a fire police guy, who didn't seem too well acquainted with running (it had been a while since high school gym class, apparently), ran up the mountain to tell us we would need to turn around and go back. Well, we don't really know the back roads of Perry County. Our GPS did, but unfortunately it had just shorted out. Sheri said, "it smells like model trains." Great. So we had to try to get directions or feel things out ourselves. Me, with directions, is often no better than trying to feel it out ourselves. Me trying to feel things out...let's just say it's a good day when I can make it out of the driveway without Sheri pointing for me.
So we were a little concerned. Fortunately we got a little cell phone help from Sheri's dad who has personally spent some time over there hunting and making a careful study of all the little restaurants in the County. Restaurants with names like The Sportsman, or Jimmie Joe Jack's Possum Shack, or The Bloated Groundhog. Tasty. So we got where we needed to go. Very late, but at least not never.
Do you know that feeling of being stuck? There appears to be no good option. Forward is blocked, backward is no good, and finding a new way to get to your destination is hazy at best. It doesn't feel good, does it? You feel disoriented, confused, frustrated, out of control. Maybe even a little panicky.
Here's the good news. We have a God who sees more than just the snapshot we see. He knows the end from the beginning, the Bible says. That means before He even created Adam he knew we'd be on that mountain that day. He also knows about the crossroads we face in life. Things do not take God by surprise because He is not limited to time. He knows what happened, what's happening, and what's going to happen to us. Not only that, but He sees the millions of details that affect us and are themselves affected by all our decisions. So, why is that good news? Because He is also kind and loving, and He wants our best. If we ask Him what to do, He will show us somehow. And He knows the best time frame for us to know.
We are all facing some uncertain times. There's smoke ahead and the territory to plot a course is unfamiliar ground. We can get to feeling lost. But God is not lost, and He has our best in mind. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28. A loving God who knows all and works things out for our best. That's really good to know. So if you want to know where to go, I suggest you ask and expect an answer. It will come at the best possible time. And in the meantime you can choose to relax and trust in God's will and timing. While you're waiting, you might head over to Jimmie's for some possum stew. But maybe you better not.
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