How Traffic Can Be a Spiritual Experience

Edric prefers to be home during Holy Week rather than go out of town because of the massive exodus of cars leaving Manila that clog the highways. So he was pretty dead set on staying in the house all weekend. However, my side of the family proposed going to Subic to enjoy time together. (Anytime the beach and cousins are part of any vacation, these are big draws for our kids.) Furthermore, some of our relatives from Canada and Singapore were supposed to go to the beach, too. So after much convincing, Edric agreed, mostly to accommodate the kids and me. He sacrificed his own desire for a relaxing, traffic-free weekend.

The plan was to leave by 5 AM today to get a head start on the traffic. I didn’t think the drive would be too bad. Between Edric and me, this is where I usually miscalculate and he knows better. We had a late night watching Lion King yesterday so with just four hours of sleep, we managed to be out of the house closer to 6 AM rather than our target departure time.

All seemed well for the first half hour. The kids were excited and Edric was in good spirits considering what little sleep he had. We prayed for safe travel and no traffic. However, as we neared the entrance to NLEX it was the nightmare Edric envisioned. Bumper to bumper, and endless stretches of cars, trucks, and busses crawling miserably in the same direction we were headed.

This is when Edric nearly lost it. “I knew it! This was my worst fear! Argh! This is why I don’t like travel during Holy Week!”

He went on and on for a few minutes, and he was beginning to sound more unsettling than the traffic. I knew he was vacillating between pushing through the madness or heading back home. But, we had a van full of eager kids, and everything carefully and thoughtfully packed. Our children had obediently put their things in suitcases and gone to bed early last night. They even slept in the clothes they were planning to wear today so they could jump right out of bed and into the van this morning. So I was really really hoping that Edric wouldn’t change the plans and give in to his frustration, although, if he had, we would have understood.

No one likes to travel at 15 kilometers per hour to get to a destination that is only 80 kilometers away. As I anticipated Edric’s pronouncement that the vacation would be cut short, he started listening to worship songs and his Bible app instead. He turned quiet.

I fell asleep for a little bit and when I woke up, Edric was still at the wheel, his face calm and his posture relaxed, an obvious contrast to the aggressiveness that possessed him just a hour before. What happened?

He said, “I realized that I had a choice to be miserable and upset, as well as complain the whole way. Or, I could choose to be thankful to the Lord, to be thankful that we are on vacation, riding in a van with air-conditioning, with our kids who are healthy and well.”

While listening to the Messiah song of Francesca Batistelli he also added, “If Christ endured the cross for me, I can certainly endure six hours of traffic!”

In fact, he nearly teared as he said this. That’s when I realized how hard it must have been for him to wrestle with the irritation and then surrender his feelings and expectations to the Lord. He was that mad at the traffic! And then he was that liberated from the anger because he changed his attitude and perspective.

How wonderful it is that God can take an experience like sitting in traffic to minister to our hearts! He causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him. (Romans 8:28)

We are still two hours away from our destination but I am sitting in a van with a peaceful husband whose enjoying uplifting music, and exemplifying to the kids and me how the right attitude can change everything.

Here he is doing a funny face as he dances to the music…

Amazingly, after Edric’s realizations, the highway cleared significantly, too!

God doesn’t put us in uncomfortable situations because he delights in our misery. He intends to build our character and make us spiritually fit. He knows that Edric struggles with patience and a temper so He allows him to be in situations where he gets to work on both of these. (Edric has openly admitted this from the pulpit so I am not sharing a secret here.) God knows I struggle with pride and selfishness so He made me a mom and wife, where this ugliness inside of me gets exposed, and I must choose to die to it every day.

I praise God that He loves Edric and me, and ALL OF YOU so much that He won’t stop the character training.

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

‭‭(Romans‬ ‭5:3-5‬)

I think about my own children and I would do the same for them. When character issues are revealed, I am committed to helping them grow in these areas for their future good.

Today, I learned from Edric’s example to be receptive to the work of the Lord in my life amidst people and circumstances. It may be normal to resist at first, but will I choose to keep grumbling and complaining like a spoiled and entitled brat? Or, will I say, “Okay, Lord, I will be grateful, I will cooperate with what you are doing. I will see your hand in this and I will learn the lessons and truths you want me to because I know you love me.”

Lord, help me to do the latter! Help me to trust that you are doing what is right and best for me. Help me to repent and change in the ways I need to so I can truly live! As you said it in Ezekiel, “The people of Israel keep saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right!’ O people of Israel, it is you who are not doing what’s right, not I. ‘Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign Lord. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel? I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live!'” (Ezekiel‬ ‭18:29-32‬)

17 thoughts on “How Traffic Can Be a Spiritual Experience

  1. I am always encouraged whenever I read your entries. It has made me realized, time and again, that all of us, even how “godly” we think other people are, have our own struggles to face. And that God is the one behind every challenge we go through because we are not yet where we are meant to be, we are not yet the person God wants us to be. Thanks for being a channel of blessing and encouragement to a lot of people. God bless you and your family!

  2. Tama na. Just because you don’t believe in anything, doesn’t mean you can rub it in their faces. I’m praying for you. Tita Joy, I think it’s time you talk to Juancho. He needs to know Jesus. Let’s pray for him.

      1. Dude, I told my friend who is close with Joy about this (what you’re doing) and it is not good. I think this site needs to be monitored/moderated. God bless!

      2. Why is it nonsense? Have you personally and thoroughly investigated the claims of Christ to take so bold a stand against him? And what do you mean by you are an atheist? The very word “believe” that you use means you have faith in something. So what is it that you have faith in?

        1. Hi Joy, I’ve noticed this Juancho person before, he/she has been trying to egg you for a while, just ignore and don’t fall for it. We are all called for other things and I siggest that everyone, all your readers just ignore the comments and not feed it some more. I also would like to pray for this person to come to knwo Christ in this lifetime.

  3. Why do you have to read my posts if Jesus is so offensive to you? If you are so proud to be an atheist then I don’t see why this blog is worth your time at all since you know that I write about everything from a Biblical worldview, which is clearly upsetting to you…

  4. Hi Joy! The ugly comments are hilarious when viewed in spiritual lens so laugh it off. 🙂 This just goes to show how effective you are in sharing the gospel because you are being attacked from all sides. Remember what God said in the book of John, “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” (John 15:19) Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world! 🙂 Keep shining for Jesus! 🙂

  5. Praising God now for using your blog as a channel of learning and blessing for me. We are indeed constantly being trained by the Lord. The more we resist it, the more we will have challenges. I am encouraged by your example. I learned thru this post that the key is to surrender our struggles to the Lord and choose to be positive and thankful. I do have this way when things i hate happen to me. I say, “process this with the Lord, take it to Jesus” which i do and then i sing a medley of Christian songs about Jesus. This helps me take out the focus off myself but back to the Lord. Thank you and God bless😀

  6. Homer Simpson is better than Jesus. He is my Lord. I worship Homer J. Simpson. #Antichrist I 🍩 believe in Jesus.

    1. I’m praying for you, Juancho! You don’t need to talk about Jesus and mock Him that way because He cares for you and He died for you. And The Simpson’s is not a religion. And you knew that this family isn’t allowed to watch that. Don’t believe in things that we don’t understand. Let’s just pray for you.

    2. That’s rude. I would highly suggest you delete this comment as it is disturbing to Christian readers and the ones who are devout Christians as well.

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