No Turning Back

One of things I've had to learn here is how to cross the road and walk down the street in general.

Scene 1: The streets here are busy. Especially when you get near the market. The streets are lined with fruit stands, juice stands, and people selling just about anything you could imagine. This is also where the bus station is. You have to dodge

Donkey carts,                                               wheelbarrows,
                                           rickshaws,                                  
                                                                                                 tea ladies with their stands,                 buses,               
                       cars,                                             other people walking around                and the occasional begger

 all while watching to make sure your feet don't fall into a pothole or walk you into a pile of trash! Since this can be difficult, I've devised a plan that gets me through safely most of the time. I find a person in front of me who is heading in the same direction and stick close to them. This way, I can just concentrate on following that one person.

Scene 2: A couple of times a week I find myself crossing a very busy road that is almost equivalent to a highway. Sometimes, it reminds me of the times we'd cross Highway 34 during cross country practice, where there was no light. We'd dash across to the median, then wait for an opening on the other side. Some of us (me) were more cautious than others who would dart at the tiniest break. It always scared me a bit, but the few times we did it were usually to cut some length off of our run, so I found it worth it. (If you're reading this coach, I confess! We were pretty good at finding ways to make our runs just a bit shorter.)

Wow, that was a bunny trail all the way to Loveland! Anyways, back to here... When someone else is around who is also crossing this busy street, I've learned to go with them. I can't hesitate, or my opportunity will be gone, and then I have to wait for a really long time for a big break or to get up the courage to go at a tiny one. So mostly, I just try to cross with someone else and trust that either, 1, they can perfectly calculate whether there is time to cross, or, 2, that there's safety in numbers and that a car is more likely to slow down if they see two people crossing the road.

When I was thinking about all this as I walked (stalked?) through the market the other day I realized that it was a lot like life. Everyone goes their seperate ways, milling around with plenty of distracting things out there. But I must learn to follow Jesus, to cling to him each step of the way because my life depends on it. It is really about each step and being with Him. Just like in the market, I can't take my eyes off of the One who is doing the leading. And I have to go with His timing and not hesitate. He won't just keep cruising along without me if I don't get across the street with Him, but it's the best option if I go with Him, because I know His timing is perfect. If I look around instead of at Him, being one step off could mean that way gets blocked by a different hinderance. Walking through life by myself just isn't an option. Sure, I could maybe make it through, but it'd be pretty difficult and stressful. So, as the hymn goes:
"I have decided to follow Jesus,
No turning back, no turning back."