Not quite…

So I have learnt that things are not always as they appear.  I was reminded of this long learnt lesson last week as I drove to work in the morning. About 2 kms from work there was stand-still traffic, very unusual for that time of morning. And seeing that there were no cars coming through in the opposite direction, I concluded that there was a stalled vehicle up ahead. As we slowly crawled along, it became clear the cause of our troubles was an abandoned matatu smack in the middle of the road, in a pool of muddy water no less! This was at the valley on the road that had muddy water gushing from the slopes towards the valley, thanks to recent downpour.

As I approached the valley I began to worry that Dudu [my 600cc-engine beauty] may not make it across to the other side. The puddle was huge and deeper than it had looked from a distance. I started to pray and ask God to have mercy on Dudu, lest we became an addition to the problem. That would have been disastrous! As I drove through the muddy water I began to feel the wheels grind and get stuck in the mud, and I had to do some defensive driving to go through. This, in addition to trying to fit myself between the stalled matatu and on-coming traffic that was not keen to give way. And I did go through! Alleluia!!! Thinking that it was nothing short of a miracle from God, I continued the journey with relief and gratitude that Dudu had gone through :).

One of my friends had been driving behind me, and as we got to work and started talking about the jam, she told me that when she saw Dudu go through the water, she knew she was safe. If Dudu could do it, so would her much bigger car LOL! And she went through courageously :). She was quite surprised when I related Dudu’s struggles through the water. Reminded me that surely, things are not always as they seem. Sometimes we envy others along their seemingly merry way, not knowing the struggles and/or challenges that they face. Quiet a sobering thought…