Although I live in a metropolitan area with a population of some seven million people, many of whom seem to drive two cars at the same time, I normally manage to avoid the worst of rush hour traffic. I stay in my part of town and don’t usually venture out of the house between 6:00 and 9:00 a.m. or between 3:30 and 7:00 p.m. If I have to be out during those rush hours, I can usually pick my way along back roads and quiet neighborhood streets.

The other day I had to take my sister Barb to DFW Airport. I normally avoid that place like the plague, since it seems to be busy 24 hours a day, but she needed to catch a plane back home to Spokane.

Knowing my aversion to traffic, Barb always arranges her flights so I won’t be out during the rush hours. This morning, her flight left at 6:45, so we left the house about 5:00 to get her there around 5:30, and I was amazed at the amount of traffic on the freeways at that hour.

As I drove south through Arlington on SH 360 looking at the thick traffic on the northbound side and the almost equally thick traffic ahead of and behind me, I began to reflect on how fortunate I’ve been to avoid that sort of thing. Passing the huge parking lot at the General Motors assembly plant, where cars moved about as the shift change took place, I thanked God I’d never worked at a company where I had to compete with thousands of other drivers for a parking place or work my way through a madhouse of vehicles trying to enter or exit at the same time.

Continuing that train of thought, I recalled that the only time in my life I had to contend with real traffic getting to and from work was my first year out of college, when I worked for a CPA firm located in a bank building in downtown Fort Worth. And in 1964 and 65 traffic was nothing compared to today.

The next 20 years after that, I struggled financially with highly undependable commission income, but at least I was spared from the worst of traffic. The second half of my career, the income situation improved dramatically, and I still worked during non-rush hours and/or out in rural areas, once again avoiding the kind of traffic so many people face every day.

The experience this morning served to remind me once again how truly blessed I am and have been all my life. God has been so good to me, and I’ve done so little to deserve it. All I can do is maintain a thankful heart.

What ongoing blessings are you thankful for?

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If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

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Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.