Earlier this week I made a trip to Sioux Falls in the late afternoon. I needed to make some visits and run some errands, so off I went. For the most part the roads (I 90) seemed fine, except there were a few places where snow was blowing across the road. I was taught that whenever snow is blowing across the road, a driver needs to pay more attention to road conditions and slow down. It’s in those places where snow is blowing across the road that snow can start collecting, be compacted, and turn into ice, thus making slick roadways.
On the drive to Sioux Falls, somewhere around the Emery or Montrose exits, I noticed a truck sitting at an odd angle. It obviously wasn’t on the road, but in the north ditch. I just figured it was a leftover vehicle from earlier days when the interstate was icy and lots of vehicles were going in the ditch.
Anyway, I made it to my destinations without any problem. I connected with the people I wanted to see. I had success with all the errands I needed to care for on my list. I even managed to stop at a restaurant that I’ve wanted to try, Fazoli’s. (It was good!) All in all, it was a pretty successful trip.
By now it was dark and pretty late in the evening, so I pulled out my smartphone to look at the road report and see what Mitchell 911 or the SD Highway Patrol might be reporting about road conditions for my return home. What I noticed is that over the past several hours there were reports of several vehicles in the ditch or the drivers having lost control on icy roads and the vehicle having rolled. By the mile markers being reported for these various accidents, that and comments about the Emery Responders being called out again, it made me realize where this was all happening was in the section where I encountered blowing snow.
So, on my trip home, I kept my speed down and when I came to questionable looking road conditions I slowed way down. Of course, not all the other drivers were doing this. Most were whizzing on by me. Fortunately, when I got to the impacted area, there weren’t any flashing lights or vehicles that I could see, in the ditch. I made it home just fine. However, the next morning there were lots of entries in Mitchell 911 on Facebook detailing numerous vehicle accidents on I 90 in that very stretch of the road I had traveled. There were continual please for motorists to “Please Slow Down” and especially to not use cruise control.
As I reflected on my experience on that stretch of the road the evening before, I was thankful that I didn’t end up in the ditch and in a mess. I’m guessing in big part it is because I slowed down. At times slowing down in life is important…even necessary. If you look at the rhythm of a week, there is supposed to be a rest day, a sabbath. Check out the 10 commandments. The point of the sabbath is for humanity to slow down. Simply pressing on at the break-neck pace of our society is not good or healthy for us.
Years ago, it was estimated that by 2020 we would only be working 20-30 hours a week because of the benefits of technology. Well, we have the benefits of technology now…but most people are working more hours now than ever. The point I want to make is that slowing down is essential in life. If we fail to slow down, to rest and rejuvenate, there will likely come a point that being on cruise control and pressing on will land us in the ditch of life…maybe even on our side or on or top, so to speak. When God came to the end of the six days of creation, it says that God rested. If it is good for God to rest, my guess is, it is good for us too.
As we make our way into the first few weeks of this new year, a good habit for all of us to develop, strengthen, or maintain, is to slow down, take a breath, and take a sabbath. We all need to rest! If you’re still not convinced, read Psalm 46 – pay special attention to verse 10. Yes, let’s each push pause before a pause is pushed upon us.
Pastor Keith