The Stone in Your Road

I often compare life to a journey along a road – our roads, while discrete, run parallel, intersect, and sometimes converge. At times we share our road, our journey with others – this time varies and it is valuable, for we have opportunities to learn, share, and enjoy.

But, our roads are ultimately our own – and although our journey is individual, one thing we all share is that, along our roads, we encounter stones.

These stones we come upon are both unique and yet common. The stones are unique to each of us, yet everyone has encountered stones. We often hear, as we talk about the stone we face in our road, someone else will speak up and say something like ‘I once had a stone a lot like that. And this is what I did,’ offering advice for dealing with the stone.

Sometimes, we can see a stone from a distance, especially as we’re walking along a particularly straight and easy portion of our road. As the road is straight, and level, and easy to walk, when we see a stone up in front of us, we often grumble, ‘a stone in my road’ – and many people fail to enjoy the road where they’re at – others say something like ‘that stone is far away, and I’m going to enjoy my time right now on the road and worry about the stone later’.

Each approach to this impending stone contains some flaws. The first, as we can see, is that the person cannot enjoy himself right where he’s at, because he worries about what lies ahead. This person cannot be happy because he’s always looking ahead for trouble. He might see the obstacle as a boulder while another person would see only a pebble.

The second person is just the opposite of the first. This person lives a carefree life. He doesn’t worry much about what lies ahead because he spends all his time right where he is and doesn’t look very often, and when he does he ignores upcoming stones. He might be surprised when he trips over the rock, completely unprepared.

Ideally, we are able to find a balance. Like everything else in life. Knowing what lies ahead allows us to plan, and living in the present keeps us from missing the good times in life right now.

So how much balance do you have in your life? Do you fret over what lies ahead? Do you ignore obstacles and hope they’ll go away? How do you deal with the stones in your road?