Wrong Road
When I was really little, my favorite kid's show to watch was Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. It's been said by my mom that growing up, my brother and I watched the VHS tapes (throwback time!) so much that a family friend asked if there was a Thomas the Tank Engine channel. There may not have been a channel, but there were countless stories and even Shining Time Station, a TV show that would air Thomas episodes narrated by the likes of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and late comedian George Carlin. Talk about unlikely narrators for a toddler's show.
To this day, Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends continues to air new episodes, albeit animated. That said, no matter how many episodes they make (538 to date), my all-time favorite episode remains the same: "Wrong Road". In "Wrong Road", Gordon, the biggest and proudest engine, calls branch lines "vulgar" and says that he would never run on them. Thomas may have been a show for toddlers, but they had an amazing way of incorporating SAT words like vulgar, predicament, quarry, quay, deputation, bulgy, and regatta. Tangent aside, after Gordon calls branch lines vulgar, his next train leaves too soon because a floppy, green hat is mistaking for a conductor's green flag. Therefore, this mix up causes Gordon to end up on the wrong road, which happens to be... a branch line, where he proceeds to be mercilessly teased for it because he had said they're vulgar.
Admittedly, part of why "Wrong Road" is my favorite episode has nothing to do with the story itself -- there was one day my Dad came home for lunch and he said the Thomas episode "Wrong Road" was going to air on TV -- and it did! It also featured amazing music at the beginning, as well as some of my favorite characters like Gordon, Bill and Ben, but that's another story. Still, two decades later and there's still part of that episode that are applicable.
Sometimes in life, we find ourselves on the "wrong road" just as Gordon did - both figuratively and literally. At one point or another, there was a moment where it all started to go wrong. We may not always realize that in the moment, it may not be until we are further along and realize we don't know where we are -- and even more frightening, we don't know where we're going. All we know is that we're in the wrong place and not where we want to be or where we believe we're supposed to be. There's a lot of emotions that can go with that. We may be angry at ourselves -- or at someone else -- that we believe caused us to end up in the wrong place. For Gordon, it was all due to his fireman mistaking a green hat for a green flag. In our own lives, we may have those "green hats" that we thought were "green flags" that have proceeded to cause all sorts of trouble. Those are what gets pinpointed as when everything went off the rails.
There's confusion about how we ended up in the wrong place. There's also fear that we may not be able to get out of where we are or that things will get worse. There also just may be a sense of sadness, that we truly thought we were going the right way but only now realized we're not. No matter what emotions one may be going through, it is safe to say being on the wrong road doesn't lead to positive, happy emotions.
In my own life, I've found myself on the "wrong road" at times. There were times last year where I kept mistaking those "floppy, green hats" for a green flag. In hindsight, part of why I was making that mistake was because I wanted what I saw to be the green flag, even if it actually wasn't. However, because I did that, I ended up hurting myself and found myself in a place where I didn't want to be. I was miserable and it felt like every time I thought I was getting back on the right path, something else would pop up and throw me off, making me feel even more helpless in the process. It took a while for me to truly get back to where I wanted to be.
When I was in college, there was a stretch where I also found myself on the wrong road, but in a different way: I started withdrawing from church. For varying reasons (some as simple as not wanting to have to ask people for a ride), I found it easier to sleep in on Sunday mornings and not go. Sure, I would still go to events like small group or the college service during the week, but I stopped making Sundays a priority. The spring semester of my junior year, the only time I actually went to church on Sunday was for Easter. When I got back for my senior year and final semester that fall, nothing changed, other than that I would try to grocery shop on Sunday mornings. In fact, as far as church events go, I found myself becoming more distant from events like small group. Not only was on the wrong road -- I wasn't on any road at all, so to speak. It took God (and a simple invitation from a college professor) to get me back on the right track and helped me to finish the last month of college on a high note.
Flash forward to today, and I genuinely find myself in a good place and know that I'm on the "right road" again - that I am where I'm supposed to be and feel secure and confident in that. With that though, it hit me this week that I got to this point because I was on the wrong road in college and even because I was on the wrong road last year. Sometimes for things to go right, everything has to first go wrong. Looking back, I wouldn't want to relive those "roads" in my life and the pain that came with them (or, in the instance of college, the pain that led to me taking it), but I don't want to lose this feeling that I'm in a better place because of them and because God guided me through them. We can find ourselves pretty distant on the wrong road, but God has a way of meeting us where we are and as we are. Jonah would certainly agree with that, as would Saul/Paul. Jesus also talked about just how a shepherd would leave 99 sheep to find 1 lost sheep (Matthew 18:12-14), God does the same for us.
Over the course of life, we'll inevitably find ourselves on the wrong road at times - there's only so much that Google Maps and Waze can do for us. Kidding aside, we all go through seasons in life, which includes seasons where we may be on the wrong road. That said, for those that they may be on the "wrong road" right now -- don't get discouraged and try not to look back or beat yourself up about it. The past can't be changed, but you can shape your future. Know that you're not alone, know that the wrong road is a process, and don't be afraid to seek out help and wise counsel from God, from friends, and from family.
Although there is no foolproof way to avoid every wrong road, having counsel from family and friends along the way definitely helps. And as Proverbs 3:5-6 mentions, it is best that we learn not on our own understanding, but that we put our trust in the Lord, not ourselves. When we seek out counsel and lean not on our own understanding, identifying "green hats" versus "green flags" becomes a lot easier. Those both would have definitely helped me out if I had heeded to those more last year. And lastly, there is one final lighthearted precaution we can take: don't call branch lines vulgar - we just might end up on one.
To this day, Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends continues to air new episodes, albeit animated. That said, no matter how many episodes they make (538 to date), my all-time favorite episode remains the same: "Wrong Road". In "Wrong Road", Gordon, the biggest and proudest engine, calls branch lines "vulgar" and says that he would never run on them. Thomas may have been a show for toddlers, but they had an amazing way of incorporating SAT words like vulgar, predicament, quarry, quay, deputation, bulgy, and regatta. Tangent aside, after Gordon calls branch lines vulgar, his next train leaves too soon because a floppy, green hat is mistaking for a conductor's green flag. Therefore, this mix up causes Gordon to end up on the wrong road, which happens to be... a branch line, where he proceeds to be mercilessly teased for it because he had said they're vulgar.
Admittedly, part of why "Wrong Road" is my favorite episode has nothing to do with the story itself -- there was one day my Dad came home for lunch and he said the Thomas episode "Wrong Road" was going to air on TV -- and it did! It also featured amazing music at the beginning, as well as some of my favorite characters like Gordon, Bill and Ben, but that's another story. Still, two decades later and there's still part of that episode that are applicable.
Sometimes in life, we find ourselves on the "wrong road" just as Gordon did - both figuratively and literally. At one point or another, there was a moment where it all started to go wrong. We may not always realize that in the moment, it may not be until we are further along and realize we don't know where we are -- and even more frightening, we don't know where we're going. All we know is that we're in the wrong place and not where we want to be or where we believe we're supposed to be. There's a lot of emotions that can go with that. We may be angry at ourselves -- or at someone else -- that we believe caused us to end up in the wrong place. For Gordon, it was all due to his fireman mistaking a green hat for a green flag. In our own lives, we may have those "green hats" that we thought were "green flags" that have proceeded to cause all sorts of trouble. Those are what gets pinpointed as when everything went off the rails.
There's confusion about how we ended up in the wrong place. There's also fear that we may not be able to get out of where we are or that things will get worse. There also just may be a sense of sadness, that we truly thought we were going the right way but only now realized we're not. No matter what emotions one may be going through, it is safe to say being on the wrong road doesn't lead to positive, happy emotions.
In my own life, I've found myself on the "wrong road" at times. There were times last year where I kept mistaking those "floppy, green hats" for a green flag. In hindsight, part of why I was making that mistake was because I wanted what I saw to be the green flag, even if it actually wasn't. However, because I did that, I ended up hurting myself and found myself in a place where I didn't want to be. I was miserable and it felt like every time I thought I was getting back on the right path, something else would pop up and throw me off, making me feel even more helpless in the process. It took a while for me to truly get back to where I wanted to be.
When I was in college, there was a stretch where I also found myself on the wrong road, but in a different way: I started withdrawing from church. For varying reasons (some as simple as not wanting to have to ask people for a ride), I found it easier to sleep in on Sunday mornings and not go. Sure, I would still go to events like small group or the college service during the week, but I stopped making Sundays a priority. The spring semester of my junior year, the only time I actually went to church on Sunday was for Easter. When I got back for my senior year and final semester that fall, nothing changed, other than that I would try to grocery shop on Sunday mornings. In fact, as far as church events go, I found myself becoming more distant from events like small group. Not only was on the wrong road -- I wasn't on any road at all, so to speak. It took God (and a simple invitation from a college professor) to get me back on the right track and helped me to finish the last month of college on a high note.
Flash forward to today, and I genuinely find myself in a good place and know that I'm on the "right road" again - that I am where I'm supposed to be and feel secure and confident in that. With that though, it hit me this week that I got to this point because I was on the wrong road in college and even because I was on the wrong road last year. Sometimes for things to go right, everything has to first go wrong. Looking back, I wouldn't want to relive those "roads" in my life and the pain that came with them (or, in the instance of college, the pain that led to me taking it), but I don't want to lose this feeling that I'm in a better place because of them and because God guided me through them. We can find ourselves pretty distant on the wrong road, but God has a way of meeting us where we are and as we are. Jonah would certainly agree with that, as would Saul/Paul. Jesus also talked about just how a shepherd would leave 99 sheep to find 1 lost sheep (Matthew 18:12-14), God does the same for us.
Over the course of life, we'll inevitably find ourselves on the wrong road at times - there's only so much that Google Maps and Waze can do for us. Kidding aside, we all go through seasons in life, which includes seasons where we may be on the wrong road. That said, for those that they may be on the "wrong road" right now -- don't get discouraged and try not to look back or beat yourself up about it. The past can't be changed, but you can shape your future. Know that you're not alone, know that the wrong road is a process, and don't be afraid to seek out help and wise counsel from God, from friends, and from family.
Although there is no foolproof way to avoid every wrong road, having counsel from family and friends along the way definitely helps. And as Proverbs 3:5-6 mentions, it is best that we learn not on our own understanding, but that we put our trust in the Lord, not ourselves. When we seek out counsel and lean not on our own understanding, identifying "green hats" versus "green flags" becomes a lot easier. Those both would have definitely helped me out if I had heeded to those more last year. And lastly, there is one final lighthearted precaution we can take: don't call branch lines vulgar - we just might end up on one.
Comments
Post a Comment