A
friend of mine was going to seminary in Chicago. He had invited us to visit
several times. Finally, Spring Break was coming, and we had some time. We
stopped at Mom’s to help out with some chores that were too heavy for her. We
had dawdled over coffee before leaving.
As
we headed down I-94, we discussed which way to go. Going through Chicago was
shorter, but it could get really congested. Better to take the I-294 bypass; there
were more tolls, but traffic should be faster.
Off
we went dropping our forty cents in the toll booths every ten miles or so. We
talked about seminary and some of the pros and cons of living in Chicago. Then
it happened. Two trucks pulled alongside one another and started slowing down. We
started moving slower and slower until we were stopped. We were in a part of
the city that we did not know. The maps in the car did not show us any easy
ways to get to the seminary from where we were. We were between exits anyway so
for the next hour and a half we sat there, in grid lock.
Occasionally
traffic moved slightly, and somebody jumped into the hole that was created.
Cars were halfway into a new lane, but not fully out of the lane they had been
in. Horns honked. People stuck their heads out of windows to let others know
what they thought. It was chaos.
The
car ahead of us ran out of gas, and people got out of neighboring cars to help
push him off to the shoulder. This was before cell phones, so we just sat
there. Occasionally a car would run down the shoulder to try for the next exit,
but as we started creeping along, we saw them stuck by break-downs and bridges.
Eventually we passed some ambulances and a fire truck.
“And
you think it would be fun to live here?” I asked.
Sue
said, “If we lived here, we would be taking the train or the bus. We wouldn’t
be stuck out here. We would be living there already.”
Who
could argue with logic?
Finally,
we were free to travel again. Amid the craziness, our car was undamaged. We
were safe, and life was grudgingly satisfactory. We finally got to the
seminary. It was good to see our friend. We went to a nearby coffee shop and
then out to supper. Our visit was short, but it was good.
Prayer
Lord,
when all about us is chaos and frustration, may we know your peace and
certainty of deliverance. Amen
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