traffic...

For Matt Day...

I drove to San Antonio last weekend to party with Gran as she turned 80. On my way to Denton to pick up my sister, brother-in-law, and favorite nephew, I got stuck in traffic. I am not used to dealing with traffic; Shreveport has very little in the way of true "traffic," which is one of maybe three good things about living in Shreveport. Ok...one of four good things. I digress. I am ok with traffic, as long as there is a definite cause...a car wreck, perhaps, or a lane closure because of construction. I get frustrated when there is traffic with no identifiable etiology. I also tend to get frustrated when there are dogs running on the side of the road who are moving faster than I am. True story. It took me about an hour to drive the last 10 miles to Denton, which was actually surprising, considering I was stopped for most of that time.

Invariably, because my mind is predictable and certain situations make me think about certain bible stories, I started thinking about the Israelites wandering in the desert. I don't really know why or when this story started coming into my head whenever I'm stuck in traffic. It has been a pretty consistent thought for at least 4-5 years; I remember being stuck in Atlanta traffic for 4 hours once and thinking about the Israelites and their exodus from Egypt to Canaan. Maybe it is because it took the Israelites like 40 years and the entire book of Numbers to get to Canaan. You can read a little about their wanderings in the wilderness here, if you are interested. I once heard that the trip from Egypt to Canaan should have taken a week. I'm not sure if that's true, but it might explain why the Israelites grumbled so much.

I like to think that God had them in the desert to learn specific things about His character...sort of like a quick immersion into the basics of what being God's people looks like. Like, Trusting God 101: Gathering Manna. Or Veterinary Science 3300: Talking Animals. Or maybe Advanced Toxicology: Recognizing and Healing the Serpent Bite. Introduction to Religion: The 10 Commandments. This is merely speculation, since I don't know exactly what God's purposes were to have the Israelites wander around in the wilderness for so long. It might have been punishment for the whole golden calf deal. I like to think it is because if they had made it to the Promised Land right away, they would never have learned that they are desperately needy people. I wonder if any of the Israelites were ever nostalgic for the days in the desert, where they were utterly dependent on God to meet their need in exactly the measure and portion required. Did the taste of milk and honey drive out the memory of sweet water and manna?

Anyways...you can draw your own conclusions/analogies. I'm not sure what God's purposes are for me getting stuck in traffic were, but I like to think that it was to get me back to the basics of learning Who He is and how to trust Him.