Everybody needs to hit the road.
I don’t mean that in a rude way, but more as a matter-of-fact. Being from California, one of the states that’s too close to fly but still wretched by car, I’ve been on my fair share of road trips. Even before I got to ACU and my parents told me they could rarely fly me home, I drove around several states almost every summer.
And let me tell you, if you’ve never driven anywhere farther than 7 hours away, you’re missing out. There’s just something about that open road.
Yes, gas stations are not always clean. And yes, your back will start to hurt in every vertebrae, starting from your lumbar region all the way up to your head. But it’s worth it, it’s all worth it.
Everyone can learn something from the asphalt, or dirt, depending on where you’re headed.
You learn more about yourself and your limits. Or, in my case, how willing I am to test the limits. In once case, what started out as a 12-hour drive turned into 17. It was filled with Wheat Thins, Zac Brown Band and Sonic Route 66 refills on refills. I learned that yes, I could do it. I could drive 17 hours. I had the mental stability and physical ability to do it.
Apart from testing yourself, the open road, if watched closely, has many lessons to teach.
Dilapidated buildings, rock formations even sun-bleached billboards, they all let us see a little bit into the past.
Road trips speak volumes to me through those eyesores. Weirdly enough, they teach me more about my Christian reality.
If you actually pay attention to those buildings on the road you can find out a few things:
God creates rock. Man builds his house on that rock. Fifty or so years down the road, only one remains.
God is sovereign. God remains.
I’ve driven across nine states, and while the scenery may change, the concept is the same. God will always remain.
God’s creation is good, even when you’re speeding past it at 80 mph. Even when you’re on empty with 16 miles to the next gas station. And yes, even when your passenger is passed out at 1 a.m. with eight hours left from the destination.
So please, for your own development as a person, go out on that road. Set out to see the Guadalupe Mountains, drive on over to the River Walk, heck, you could even make it to the coast. Drive safely, but don’t forget to appreciate your surroundings and the lessons around you, even if they come in the form of a crumbling building.
Maybe there’s something to mention about the destination being only a part of the equation. I know for me, it’s always been about the journey on the open road.
