Hitting a Speed Bump

If you don't watch the show Parenthood, you should.

On a recent episode Crosby and Adam decided to open up a music recording studio.  They rushed to get their first artist in, working through the night for several days to have the studio up and running on time.  However, after a day of recording, the artist was unsatisfied and it seemed that they no longer had his business.

Adam said, "Alright well, so that's it then... We’ll get other musicians in here to record.  We weren’t ready.  But you know what we did?  Gave it our all.  That’s all anybody can do.  Ever.  Learn from your mistakes.  We hit a little bump."

Sometimes things don't always go the way we had anticipated.  Sometimes we think we're going to be ready--we think we are ready--because the past several days (or years) have been on fast-forward in our lives.  Sometimes God is asking us to slow down.  Sometimes it's unwise to jump right into things.

And when the answer comes that we didn't want to hear all we can do is sigh and say, "So that's it then."  There's nothing we can do to change it because we gave it our all.  But just because we hit a bump doesn't mean the journey is over.

Speed bumps are placed there to get us to slow down.

Usually speed bumps are bright and yellow and we see them coming from yards away.  But sometimes they are just black with tiny white lines and we hit them going full speed (if you're in a hurry or from Jersey anyway haha) and they come as a shock to us.

easy to see

hard to see

They literally FORCE us to slow down.  Even if we didn't see them coming.  Even if the timing wasn't ideal in our minds.

The timing is ideal for God.  And that's all that matters.  God places speed bumps strategically.  Nothing is done without reason.

"Alright well, so that's it then... Learn from your mistakes."

I'm ready to learn.  I'm ready to grow.  I'm ready  to be taught.  Even if the car is going 10mph over a speed bump.  Even if my life is in slow motion for the next year and a half.

Even if the end result still isn't what I want it to be.  It's what God wants it to be.

And really, that's all that matters anyway.

Jesus is in control of not only the car we're in, but the road we're on.  Bring on the speed bumps.  Bring on the sharp turns.  Bring on the open road when we are ready to go full speed.

Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you (Job 22:21).