Merging

I really hate merging into oncoming traffic. Really, really hate it.

Not to say that I don’t do it well, or don’t do it a lot. For heaven’s sake, I’m a Houston driver! We’re CONSTANTLY merging into and onto tangled freeways. It’s just that so many people put up their inconsiderate driving defenses and merging into traffic here often means taking your life into your own hands.

God and I have some of our best conversations while I‘m driving. I’m not kidding, or joking about praying because of Houston traffic, I just mean that my car is our “spot.” That’s why I like to drive by myself a lot; it's peaceful to me, and He and I communicate there. I hear Him just as clearly as if He were physically sitting in the passenger seat.

There is a particular intersection that I merge into nearly every single time I drive, that I really don‘t like at all. If you’re from the area, it’s merging onto Fairmont Parkway eastbound from the northbound Beltway 8 feeder in Pasadena. It’s not particularly crazy or difficult, but I’ve been almost hit there several times and therefore do not like it. It makes me nervous. Years ago I began the habit of asking God to “give me an opening” whenever I came up to that intersection. It became so common that I just asked it, in one form or another, without even thinking every single time I approached it. And I have to tell you, NEVER has He let me down or made it hard for me. As I mentioned, I go that way nearly every single time I drive, and have for years. In all those times, I ask God to give me an opening, and either the light turns green as soon as I get there (which always makes me smile) and I don’t have to merge at all, or there will be a hole in oncoming traffic big enough for me to slide in with no problems whatsoever. Then I thank Him for doing it once more for me. This is our routine.

One day I drove through it and the light immediately turned green when I got there, and I had a perfect, stress-free opening. I realized after this had happened that I hadn’t asked God for it that time. But He had done it anyway, just as He had for years. I laughed, and just said thank you to Him, because I realized right there that we just had an unspoken agreement now. I trust him to take care of me, and He does it. No words needed to be exchanged between us, it’s just a standing agreement that we have now. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

One day not so long ago, I did ask Him to take care of it as I approached this intersection. Usually I just say “God, give me an out,” or “God, take care of me, please;” something along those lines. This time, I was stupid enough to say “God, please take care of it, however You see fit.” He replied to this, asking me, “really? However I see fit?”

Uh oh.

“Um… yeah…” was my uncertain reply, uneasy as to why He was asking me to repeat that.

“Even if the car in front of you stops? Because you really hate that,” God says to me. (You don’t have to completely stop there, even on red, because you have your own turn lane for a short time until needing to merge over. I hate when people stop and back up traffic instead of keeping on ahead and then merging.)

Me: “Yeah… whatever.”
God: “It makes you mad."
Me: “So? Come on, I know You’ll take care of it like You always do.”

I got up to the intersection with four cars in front of me. The first three went straight on through and merged nicely like good little drivers, and then the one in front of me abruptly stopped.

Silence.

More silence.

Still sitting there, staring at the car in front of me, going nowhere.

Me: “Very funny. Now come on.”

The car in front of me moved about an inch… and stopped. And then another inch... stop.

Me: “Seriously?!”

I promise you, I heard God laugh.

And again… stop. Just teasing me, I’m telling you.

Me: “Okay, I get it! You‘re hilarious!”

The car did that a couple of more times before the light turned green and it took off, finally freeing me to drive off as well. I just sat there in silence, and I swear, God was just laughing His head off. I finally cracked up laughing too and admitted to Him that it WAS pretty funny. He did take care of me, just like He always does. Just not in the way I expected. I did give Him permission to do it however He wanted, after all (as if He needs my permission).

Me: “You infuriate me sometimes.”
God: “Likewise.”

God doesn’t always answer your prayers in the way YOU see fit. In fact, rarely does that ever happen. More often than not, He’ll test your patience with His answer. But that doesn’t mean He’s not always sovereign, with your best interest at heart. So just trust Him anyway. Even when you feel stuck.

And lighten up! God is pretty funny once you get to know Him.