As I sat in the passenger seat, I was enjoying the process of being along for the ride. There is an interesting sense of abandonment that comes when you are going with the flow, having no worries about what comes next or when it ends. It was a fun exercise of letting go of the need to be in control. While my skills maybe improving, they are a long way from anything resembling release.
We moved into the turning lane and I found myself trying to anticipate where we were going to next. My mind was racing, trying to formulate a guess worth expressing. My body skipped a beat as a police car appeared from behind us at speed, then another to our right, and then another coming directly towards us. The flashing red lights, silence except for the skidding tires, and movement towards a common point, pulled my attention to a singular doorway.
Like rounding cattle, shoppers that were exiting were quickly directed back into the store. Whatever was going on was not good. Guns were drawn. A few police were waiting behind their cars, standing on alert. This could get ugly! I realized it was our intended destination. No more. My whispered thought – “Break in, God, and break up this fight; if you love me at all, get me out of here.” (Psalm 6.4) Just as I thought we were still going to turn, a quick flick of the wheel and a stomp on the accelerator assured me we were going to be anywhere but. I could see more police arriving. While my curiosity was pulling me in one direction my head was with the car going in the anywhere but there.
Being in a difficult situation is nothing knew. Walking into a fight, physically or with words, happens more often than I care to think about. Life and conflict seem to find each other, especially when one is tired. Before the lights arrive, God help us find a way. Even with divine help, it takes you and me to make things work.
