Recalling life’s routine in a traffic jam

 

What a messy traffic jam along the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) this morning! A 7km distance that normally takes me less than 5 minutes to travel turned into 25 minutes

 For the past one and a half years, I seldom experienced traffic jams. Less cars were on the roads, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. More people were working from homes. But today seems like the “bad-old-days” of driving through the PIE. The lane that I was driving on always seemed slower than the rest. And when I changed to another lane, the new lane now seemed to move slower!  Perhaps, traffic jam is the environmental way of teaching us to be patient.

I thought we are now in the “new-normal”. The “old-normal” of driving are always traffic jams, peak-hour rush, horn and frustration. And so, as I “crawl” through the traffic, I couldn’t help but mesmerized about how life has seep pass me all this years without me pausing to sit back and think. A traffic jam is like living on a fast-lane of life suddenly pulling the hand-brake.

Hey! I thought I am retired and should have time to smell the roses; sit-down with a cup of coffee and enjoy the breeze from the Pasir Ris beach. That was my dream before I quitted my job last year. But as God would have plan it, my retirement life is more like cruising down the PIE daily, with a busy weekly routine. No, I am not complaining. It’s just that I was caught up in the day-to-day chores that leave little time to ponder. Today is Thursday, and the busiest day of the week. Maybe, a traffic jam is good to help me take a better look of life’s routine… and check my attitude of going through life.

Did I pass the test of 1 Cor 16:14 “And do everything with love”? Check.

How about Phi 2:14 ”Do everything without complaining & arguing”? Check.

OK, a more difficult one, Matt 5:16 “Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good work and give glory to your Father in Heaven.”

Let’s always check our light, at times, we may forgotten to turn on our light. Once our light is on, drive carefully. Even through the traffic jams of life (which are many), we can still do things that give God the glory.

Agape.