The Side Road

My friend Manuel called me last week,

and asked me “How is your journey going?”

I thought for a while, and then I described it like this. 

It’s like I’ve been on a highway and now I’m on a side road. 

As I thought about that, the idea developed over the weekend

I have turned off the highway because the signs were clear. Turn right here, it said!

I'm on a very different path now.

Before, on the highway, all was reasonably straightforward

Life was busy. There was a lot going on. Lots of people travelling with you

There are places you can stop, and hang out for a while. 

Meet others. Exchange ideas. Do some business. And you keep moving on. 

You have a direction that you are heading in, and there’s a lot to do along the way.  

Yes, there’s some urgency, but basically, its a comfortable ride.

Now it’s different. The road is much smaller. Single track, in fact. Not many options to turn off. No short cuts. 

You have to concentrate hard to keep on the path. Don’t waver, or fall off the road. Moving slower now. And there are often delays. Obstacles on the road, and you have to wait for them to be cleared.

 Yes, it does seem to be moving in the same general direction as the highway, but you wonder, why this way. It’s uphill, and slow going. And then… you begin to realise something. It’s quieter on this road. There are less outside voices. Just you, and the clear air. In fact the clearest voice you hear is the voice of the One who directed you to make the turn in the first place. You are suddenly closer to the One who has been directing your journey through life than ever before.

And the other thing, as the road winds its way uphill, is that your vision changes. 

You see further into the distance. 

The view ahead is clear, though the far distance is covered in an early morning mist.

At the same time you become more intensely aware of the small things around you. The song of a bird perched on a gorse bush. Dewdrops glistening on a spiders web in the morning sun. And your heart lifts. Because you know that, even if it’s a side road, it is the right road. It is the road for you, for this season, for this walk you need to make. 

Sometime later, no doubt, you will rejoin the highway once more, but that's another story.