One of our campus' neighboring streets is being completely refurbished this summer. This is great news, as a drastic repair is long overdue. At this point, it is more pothole than road, as the undercarriage of my car found out the hard way...
I used to take this street almost every morning, as it is the easiest way to get from the busy street I live on, to the busy street that leads to the home I baby-sit in. One morning, as I made my way down the street, I hit a pothole, and heard what sounded like something metal falling off of my car. I kept and eye out my review mirror, but didn't see anything left behind. I even checked under my car when I arrived, and couldn't see anything hanging from the bottom, so I figured I was good.
About a month later... a few weeks ago... I had to have the starter replaced, and I noticed a loud rattling sound when I got my car back. I immediately returned to the auto body shop to inquire as to the source of the rattle and was told I had a loose exhaust shield... most likely from running over something (like a pothole) but that it was nothing to worry about, and could just be hammered back up the next time I had the oil changed.
Today, I worked the Brewers' Home Opener (they beat the Cubs 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th - GOOD Friday :) and as I pulled into the employee parking lot, I heard a loud metal clang and something underneath my car scraping along the pavement. I checked under my car and saw a large, thin piece of metal half hanging onto my undercarriage, and half resting on the pavement. 'That must be the exhaust shield,' I deduced, and called the auto body shop on my way into work, before being told they couldn't fit me in to fix it until early tomorrow morning.
I ended up finishing early, and called back to see if they'd be able to squeeze me in this afternoon, and they were... so I pulled out of my parking spot, prepared to drive there with the hideous sound of scraping metal under my car. Fortunately, the piece of metal fell completely off before I got out of the parking lot, and the rattling was stopped. When I walked into the auto body shop carrying the large piece of metal, the worker immediately said, "Looks like you don't need me anymore!" Turns out it was the heat shield that fell off, and he told me I don't really need it and he would've just taken it off himself.
Things worked out pretty well, but what did I do on my way back to my apartment? Yep! I took the pothole infested street that got me into my predicament in the first place. Real smart, Kate.
I was thinking about this when I was walking back to my apartment after rounds, and noticed that one of the potholes on that street is so deep that you can see the mesh/wire/grid thing that goes under the concrete on roads! Why would I keep driving on this dangerous street, even after it caused a potentially dangerous problem with my car (what if that huge hunk of metal had fallen off on the highway?!)
Since the start of the initial rattling, I tried taking a different neighboring street, which proved to be just as hazardous because of the many parked cars and jay-walking students, and eventually settled on a much smoother, albeit longer, round-about way of getting to the girls' home in the morning. Despite my every intention to avoid that road, I often find myself driving down Pothold Path... like when I'm running late to baby-sit.
I will sometimes go down that road, knowing the potential hazards, simply because it is the quickest route to my destination. Other times, I will head down Pothole Path out of mere habit. I won't even remember that I'm trying to avoid it, or realize that I'm heading in a potentially hazardous direction, until I am already half way down the road and have hit several potholes. Can you guess where I'm going with this?
The potholes are a lot like our pet vices, the road being the sinful path to temporary satisfaction. As someone who's been playing tug of war with OCD for nearly 20 years, I know as much as anyone the comfort of the familiarity of the Broken Boulevard, and the discomfort of rerouting your commute by the Healthy Highway. Too often, when I get agitated, restless, or unsettled, when I encounter a major change in my life, I am tempted to take the easy, familiar path riddled with potholes, even though I know I will regret it later. Dealing with a broken car, or a broken heart later, is simply easier than dealing with the anxiety of the present... until it catches up with me...
I get both literally and figuratively lost more than anyone I know. I am very much a "turn left by the big oak with the twisty trunk" kind of girl. Fortunately, I was given a GPS for my 24th birthday, and it has helped me safely navigate my way to many new places throughout southeastern WI and northern IL, with much less stress than my previous excursions. Sometimes I forget it, and I get lost, but that just helps me remember and appreciate it even more the next time I'm in need of direction.
I'm fortunate enough to also have a GPS to help me navigate the potholes of life... my Bible... Just like the electronic GPS unit I use in my car, I sometimes forget it... or think I can navigate my way on my own. That just reminds me how important it is to study and familiarize myself with my life's roadmap. It might seem easier, or more fun, to get lost along the sinful path for awhile, but avoiding such eventually painful detours is the easiest way to ensure I arrive at my final destination safely!
