just how productive is hurling grapes in a snowstorm?

Tonight, I drove home in the worst snow storm I've ever driven in. The snow was coming down so hard that it was very difficult to see even going 10-20 mph on the freeway. On top of that it was dark and there was ice on the roads. There were a few times I felt my stomach twist a little from either not being able to brake or fish tailing a little. Fortunately, I have a brother that taught me at a young age how to drive in storms like this, and how not to react when you lose control.

As I was driving in these extremely dangerous conditions with cars in ditches, spun around backward, and ran into each other, I found myself comparing my drive to our lives. Life is unpredictable, and there is very low visibility far ahead of us. Although we make our 20 year plans and hope and dream big, often what we expect (good or bad) is not exactly where we end up. There were times tonight where I literally could not see more than 15 feet in front of me. That's a tiny amount of space when you're on ice and on a freeway. I found that I had to trust God. The same goes with life--we can't see the future and to a large degree we cannot control it. So it's about learning to work with what we can control and trusting God for the rest. When my car began to fish tail because I hit a rough patch, I had to remember not to overreact, not to brake suddenly, and not to accelerate...but just to completely release. When we come to difficult situations in life like losing a job, a family member getting cancer, and so on, sometimes the best way to react is to release it to God. Let Him set the pace and guide the way.

Also, when it snows, there's often one path in a snow-covered multiple lane road that people travel on. Because of previous car treads, the snow and ice are a little more driveable in that one section. This reminded me of the straight and narrow. As the Bible says in Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." At times, it may have seemed tempting to get off the predetermined tire treads that my car had a little more grip on to go around someone, or to be closer to one side of the road or the other, but by staying in the middle I secured the safest path. As I drove, I saw cars around me that had strayed off the path or tried to go faster than what was best and had spun off the road. This parallels staying on the straight and narrow and following God's plan for our lives. By doing this and accepting Jesus Christ's forgiveness for our sins (the times we swerved off the path), we will arrive at our final destination (Heaven) safely. But when we leave the path, we are asking for direction, and unlike the road I was driving on tonight, if we do not stay on the straight and narrow path symbolic of following Christ after accepting salvation, we will not enter Heaven.

Hell is very real...as are the ditches on the side of the road in this life--the consequences we can visualize to compare. The good news is that even if you end up in a ditch, Jesus can pull you out if you will let Him forgive you and give you guidance. But stay in the ditch too long, until the end of your life, and there will be no bailing out and the ultimate consequences will not be pretty.

So what part of the road are you driving on in this storm of life that so often has low visibility? To reflect on Matthew 7 again, perhaps verses 16-20 will reveal a little about where you're at, in case you aren't sure: "By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." What fruit are you bearing?