Negotiating Roundabouts
Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God. John 6:68-69
If you’ve ever driven on the left-hand side of the road, you know what it’s like to see your life flash before your eyes. Added to the sheer terror of left-side driving in, say, England, is trying to negotiate a busy roundabout. I’m convinced the English have a dashboard device that detects American drivers so they can play “Scare the Yank” in the middle of their roundabouts. Some are three and even four lanes across and cars zig and zag in and around you as you keep circling, trying to figure out the correct exit. It’s a scene out of Squid Game (worst case) or Mr. Bean (at best).
No one wants to get stuck in a roundabout—those places in life where we feel confused as we seem to just go around in circles. A job that’s gone stale; a passionless marriage; that feeling that “there’s got to be more than this.” Sometimes we feel like Frodo and Sam when they wander in the fog amidst the rocks of Mordor, only to realize we’ve gone in a circle and are back where we started.
The deceiver wants you to think you’re the only one who gets stuck in life’s roundabouts. But that’s a big fat lie. Left-sided, chaotic roundabouts are more common than you think. (Did you know that more than a third of the world’s nations drive on the left, including Japan, Cyprus, and Indonesia?) So those feelings of being stuck and alone? Untrue. The sense of fear and quiet panic while going in circles? Shared by millions of other men from every socioeconomic, cultural, and ethnic background.
The best remedy when you are stuck in a roundabout is to stay calm, focus, get your bearings, and then move. What this looks like in real life: When you seem to be “running as fast as you can” but going nowhere, it can be hard to remain calm. As God’s men we look for the One directing the traffic—we pray, surrender, and ask for directions. We then look at our circumstances, ask for solutions from the Father and trusted brothers, and then move. We look for the proper exit to our roundabout. It may mean counseling for a stuck marriage, a mid-career “reset” (e.g., retooling, further schooling, or certification), or simply pulling over to the side of the road for a while to regain our bearings.
Father, thank you that you have a bird’s eye view of my roundabouts, and you see both the problem and the right route to take. Show me where to go.