Blind Spots
Have you ever been in a blind spot when you were driving down the road? They are terribly frightening and dangerous.
Recently, the elders and I were all together in the same vehicle. I was driving (and some say they don’t have faith…). We were tooling down the interstate when all of a sudden the traffic slowed in front of me. I looked in the mirror, turned on my signal light, and proceeded to change into the left lane in order to go around the cars ahead of me. I was careful, but because of a blind spot, I nearly ran into a car that was traveling in the left lane, trying to make his way around me.
As I slowly moved from the right lane to the left, I once again checked the mirror. There was nothing there, and so I proceeded to negotiate the lane change. All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of white. Without hesitation, I quickly moved my vehicle back into my lane. I had almost broadsided a little white car who was traveling just a little behind my door on the left hand side. I know it must have scared him, because it sure did scare me.
The elders and I all recovered quickly. They didn’t make fun of my driving… I suppose because they themselves have been in the same situation before, and they know how easy it is to miss something in a blind spot.
No sooner did the little Blazer return to its lane from its near kamikaze run, than my mind instantly thought of my precious cargo. The vehicle is nothing, but contained within, were the leaders of this church. We didn’t even leave an elder behind for seed. If there had been a bad accident as a result of my not seeing that little white car, where would this church be? How would the people here have dealt with all of us dying at the same time? How would they have recovered? Who would have taken their places? What would it have done to the spirit of this body?
Riding in my charge was the most precious cargo of this congregation: the leaders. One little blind spot could have changed our history forever.
I quickly returned to our conversations as if all were okay but deep inside me, was a lesson being learned. Blind spots are dangerous to me and all those around me.
If I had not seen that car in time and if there had been a fatal accident at seventy miles per hour, my own personal little blind spot would have affected me, all three of the elders, and the driver of the other car. Who knows how many would have crashed into us among those trailing behind! So far I could count five… until I began to count their families… and then the church family. My one little mistake could have cost a world of people, grief, and pain beyond measure.
Blind spots are very common when you drive a vehicle, but they are even more common, in life itself. Most of us have sense enough to stay out of trouble, but it is the things that slip up from behind that get us. Somewhere, out of the blue, something comes upon us that we did not see… and wham! Before you know it the mortality rate has sky-rocketed and there is nothing you can do to stop it.
As soon as I whipped back into my lane I knew something had to be done to avoid that situation again. My left hand went immediately to the mirror adjustment. With a little whirl of the motor, the mirror was repositioned to see a broader piece of the road. As a matter of fact, I adjusted both sides. I did not want anyone slipping up on me again.
What do you do about blind spots? How do you avoid catastrophe? Adjust. “Be ever watchful.” Keep those eyes on the road, both forward and behind. Anticipate. Expect Satan to slip up from behind… after all, he is a master at that. Never let your guard down, knowing that he doesn’t.
Perhaps the thing that will most inspire us to keep a sharp eye out, is remembering the precious cargo that we carry. It’s not just me, nor is it just you who is affected by what happens. Everyone who touches your life is affected by what happens to you. Never, ever forget that.
Watch out for those blind spots. Do whatever you have to do to avoid them, knowing that even with the best effort, some will still slip up on us.