Country Roads

 A highway will be there, a roadway,

And it will be called the Highway of Holiness.

The unclean will not travel on it,

But it will be for him who walks that way,

And fools will not wander on it.

Isaiah 35:8

It seemed like a good idea at the time. We hadn't seen our sister-in-law since she moved to South Carolina nearly 3 years ago. Using Google Maps, I indicated a starting point and a destination. The first set of directions were to use I-95 through Washington and Baltimore. NOPE. I checked the map further and decided that an I-81 route around major cities and through the countryside was the best choice.

It turned out I-81 was not a good choice. I-81 is a major truck route for truckers who want to avoid Washington, Baltimore, and major cities. It also happens to be a major route for drug and human trafficking. So much so the FBI formed a task force to combat these issues. It is not by any means a "Highway of Holiness". 

We came to a crash. Two trucks had sideswiped each other and blocked both lanes of traffic. That was when we found that fools wandered this highway as they cut through the narrow way called "Authorized Vehicles Only" to head in the opposite direction. 

Over an hour later, as Isaiah wrote, "Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee" as we headed on our way.

HOPE is God's word in these series of events. In spite of what we experienced and learned about I-81, there is a Highway of Holiness. That is God's promise from Isaiah's words. No matter what road we travel, no matter what bumps and detours we experience, there is a "Highway of Holiness." 

HOPE is God's word as we  long for the "Highway of Holiness" taking us beyond pandemic, hatred, racism, and violence.

HOPE,  the highway will be there and the righteous will walk on it.