S04E091, Rain, Wisdom, Pauses and Pushing On, Andy B 2 Minute Video
Life can be pretty challenging sometimes, especially when what you first thought was a pleasant day changes, dramatically. Now, you’re not just walking up a mountain enjoying the view, but you’re fighting for your life as freezing fog or a heavy downpour suddenly envelopes you, snow falls and you realise you didn’t bother to bring any emergency survival gear because it all looked so lovely when you set out.
When learning to drive I faced, what can only be described as, torrential rain – the sort that your wipers can’t work fast enough to deal with; the sort that makes the edge of the roads invisible.
I faced these same conditions recently when driving some friends to a train station, after a weekend of hosting them in our home.
We’d popped into a supermarket on the way, so that they could buy themselves some lunch for their journey, and by the time we had finished the rain had started falling, and then some.
Our car was literally opposite the door from the small supermarket. A fairly narrow footpath (sidewalk) stood between us - it took a matter of seconds to jump into the car, once we had left the dry-safety of that supermarket. And, yet, we were all thoroughly soaked through by the time we’d shut the car doors again.
Life does this sometimes doesn’t it? We go out in the sunny weather, with our shades on, and then we’re taking the shades off and running for cover as, sometimes, all hell seems to break loose directly at us.
It is in those times that we have to consider our following actions. And, sometimes, the best thing we can do is follow the advice of my driving instructor – to take a break, and a pause, while the worst of those conditions blow over. Sometimes being risk averse is the wiser course of action, if we can.
As Christians we can always go to God, and ask Him to help us. The bible reassuringly reminds us that we can take shelter under the shadow of His wings – what a place to be.
So no matter whatever storms you see raging around you, take a pause, and go talk to God, resting under His wings, and asking Him what you should do next.
Just a thought...
Andy B
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Transcript
0:06
So another Andy B 2 Minute Video. And, over the weekend, we had a really, really good time. We met some new friends from Finland. They came to stay there for the weekend. They were in the UK. And we picked them up from a station, and then we took them back so they could travel to London so they can spend the rest of their holiday here in the UK. And as we were taking them back to the train station, it was a bit of a drive, we get to this city, we're nearing the train station. We stop for some food, so they have some lunch and when we struggle to get back in the car.
0:38
When I say a torrential downpour, I don't mean heavy rain. I mean the kind of rain that means you can't see the lines on the road. Those white lines disappeared. Those yellow ones? Couldn't see them. The road just looked like it was exactly the same level as the pavement, which is about, ooh, three, three or four inches lower. This is the thing. When it rains down hard, it's very hard to see what's going on. All the cars slow down because we came to roundabouts, we couldn't see where the lanes were. It was very difficult.
1:11
So often in our lives we, we have these times when all this torrent of stuff just throws itself at us. And we can't see which way we go. And we don't know which way is up, what's left, what's right. We're just left trying to cover ourselves from getting soaked through by this torrential rain of life's, issues. And in those times, it's good to do what my driving instructor taught me to do, when I was on my third, or my fourth lesson, and we had exactly the same conditions. The difference is I've been driving professionally for 17 years in between those. But, when I was on my driving lesson, he said,
1:49
"Andy, let's just pull to the side of the road, you're not experienced enough to deal with this sort of conditions. It's dangerous. There's no point let's just pull to the side. We'll have a chat. We'll have a drink, and we'll we'll carry on when the rain stops." And that's exactly what we did. And it was really wise!
2:06
The difference from then, to now is 26, 27 years worth of driving, 17 years worth of professional driving. Rain like that doesn't phase me. I slow down.
2:18
But, in life, we have this same stuff. Some stuff you will be able to deal with where others won't. So let's be careful not to judge others when they're slowing down and we're thinking, 'why don't you just keep going? But it doesn't quite work that way.
2:30
As a trucker. I can tell you this. If it's really heavy rain on the motorways, as a lorry driver, you can see just as well. As a car driving you're much lower. The rain lifts up from the floor, because it's getting thrown up a spray, ou can't see anything. Trucks can. They have a better view! We don't bother slowing down. Why? Well, we can still see thanks very much. Not an issue. Just as good a grip on the wheels. It's not going to be a problem.
2:54
Let's assess the things that come up when things get difficult. Let's be careful not to to keep charging ahead. Sometimes we need to take a pause, pull to the side of the road. And sometimes trust somebody else who's got a better vision, perhaps more experience, to help you through those difficulties.
3:10
Just a thought
Andy B, 30/06/2022