Eyes on the road

It’s a running joke in my family that while driving I am incapable of looking away and remaining in my lane. In the days of children in car seats, it was a real risk for me to turn and assist a disgruntled child. Today, looking at something off to the side or behind me is to beckon the familiar rumble from strips designed to awaken drivers who have veered off course.

Recently, after illustrating this weakness once again, my daughter smiled, shook her head, and kindly suggested: “You know, you could just keep your eyes on the road.”

Of course, she was right. Her advice, though simple and full of common sense, seems to speak about more than driving.

If I look honestly at my life, I can see how I struggle in the same way. There have been and continues to be distractions on my left and right, just as there are countless reasons to look behind me at things past. Whether it’s an unkind remark or action that causes me to look away, I sometimes respond with ones of my own. When focused with great excitement on what could be, I am reminded of mistakes in the past and lose all enthusiasm.

In other words, each time I look away I veer off course. It is hard enough to navigate when looking straight ahead, but looking away makes it almost impossible. Just like when driving, I am incapable of looking away and remaining in my lane. My daughter’s simple advice seems to speak once again: “You know, you could just keep your eyes on the road.”

How difficult and true is such advice for us all.