Sliding Doors....

Quite a few years ago, I saw a movie by the name of "Sliding Doors."  It was an interesting concept; a few moments of time changes your personal history, for better or worse.  The name came from the two parallel story lines -  each outcome dependent on whether or not the main character got into a train before the doors slid closed.  I have been thinking about that, and what a blessing those few moments in time can be.

I had a long drive the other day, and I was a little slower to get going that I intended.  The weather was terrible, and I drove in tough conditions for several hours before I finally started to get out of it.  On the very edge of real improvement, the pavement wet but no longer icy, I got stuck in the worst traffic hold up I have ever been in.  Because of an accident just down the road, I sat in one place on the freeway for well over an hour before we all started moving, diverted off the freeway and onto a county road to go around the mess just ahead.

I was annoyed and frustrated by the long delay, anxious to reach my destination still many hours down the road.  I knew the accident must have been serious, and I felt sorry for the people involved, especially if there were fatalities.  But I didn't understand why they couldn't at least let one lane of traffic by, so the thousands of people who were being held up could at least get going.

It wasn't until many hours later that I learned the delay was caused by a 70 car pileup just beyond where I gotten stopped, due to the icy road conditions.  When I heard how serious the accident was, and realized it happened just before I got there, I recognized how fortunate I was that I hadn't left earlier, and that I was not the one in the middle of the mess.

Sliding Doors indeed.  It could have been me.  I could have been the one who no longer had a car to carry me safely to my destination, many hours down the road.  Instead of inconvenience, which didn't change my life in any way, I could have been stranded many hours from home and having to cope with the aftermath of a serious accident, perhaps even injuries.

We don't usually have the opportunity to see the impact of those Sliding Door moments on our lives.  We don't know how life may be different, if only things had gone the other way.  We may not even realize we've had a Sliding Door moment at all, because we have gone on, blissfully unaware of how close we came to a different outcome.  It is sobering to think about how life could change in an instant, if things had gone differently.

God allowed harm to come to some that day, while thousands more were kept safe.  We don't understand the reasons why, whether we are the lucky one or the unfortunate.  But God's plan is perfect, and he knows why each person was placed as they were.

I am reminded of Ephesians 3:20.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us...."

God's power is eternal, and his plan encompasses the bigger picture.  Our temporal vision is insufficient for complete understanding.  What doesn't make sense to us here and now may be only a small part of his larger plan, if only we understood.

Today I am grateful for the Sliding Door moment I experienced.  It is too easy to take life for granted, thinking we have control over our universe. The reminder that the world is big and random, while I am small and not in charge, is valuable and needed every now and then.

Dear Lord, thank you for allowing me to remain safe on that long drive, and for granting me the blessing of arriving at my destination while others did not.  I don't understand the reasons why, but you do, and that is sufficient for me today.  Amen.