COUNTRY ROADS

365 Days of Thanksliving — Day 185

Show of hands: who loves road construction? What, nobody? Y'all are tons of fun. Hahahaha.

Of Minnesota’s four seasons, road construction has to be the most notorious. Like all places, we have four seaons, but not sure we can call them winter, spring, summer and fall. Perhaps Up Nort here, we can call em: Winter is Coming; followed by Hell Hath Frozen Over; then Thawing Out; and finally, Darn It All, It Suddenly Got Humid-Hot (aka Road Construction Season).

Speaking of that fun stuff, this afternoon I had to run into the next biggest town to our north for a few errands. And lo and behold, MNDOT had a road construction project going on that they failed to tell absolutely anyone about. Just a short warning about one-tenth of a mile beforehand, and then whammo—a giant section of the road was completely torn out. Had it not been for the massive roadblocks and the signs in the way, some country boy might’ve tried to outrun Rosco P. Coltrane, jump that sucker, and keep on truckin'. You'd definitely need the General Lee for that one, though.

Well, I ain’t no Duke, nor do we live near Hazzard County, but thank goodness for the country crossroads. Left or right? Choose! I went left; then down a mile; took a right on another country road. Then another left at the next country road—there’s always a bunch of 'em, don’t ya know, which is a good thing—and finally, I hit pavement and made it to town. Actually, it brought me in the back way right to where I was going. Nice to know for next time.

Gosh darn it, though. Now we have to wash the wifey’s car again because it’s all good and dirtied up. It’s a conspiracy by the local car washes, I tell ya.

Anyway, the nice thing about all those country roads is they serve as a reminder: there’s more than one way to get to where you wanna go. And ya know, that rings true with many things… perhaps all but one, I say.

Case in point, if I wanna go back up to Springfield (where I was headed today), I can go the way I did. Or, I can head north out of town on a different road—you know, the one where Gov. Timmy Walz was caught "fake hunting" back in the fall of 2024 when he was vying to be our nation’s VP. Ah yes, that infamous “Elmer Fudd” photo shoot (which my wife and I literally drove by as it was happening). Yeah, I could've taken that road, and actually did on the way back. OR… I could’ve gone one of three long ways around; or, just stuck to the gravel the whole way and really wrecked my wife's paint job, LOL. Point being, there’s often more than one way to reach your destination, and for that, I have to thank the Good Lord, the county planners, and the farmers.

That’s true with many things in life, like eating healthy and weight loss. I don’t have to eat Keto to drop the pounds; there are other ways to reach that destination. I could become a vegetarian or vegan, but that’s no fun. Or I could jab myself with one of those miracle drugs and cheat my way through it, but knowing my luck, that would come back to haunt me. You get the point, right?

Like I was saying, there’s almost always more than one way to get where you’re going—except for one thing: the road to eternal life.

Jesus said this to his disciples: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6, CSB)

Buddha never said he could get us there. Muhammad’s immorality disqualified him. He was one of the OG pedophiles, BTW, taking himself a 6-year-old bride. A true winner, that one was. NOT! While we’re at it, Joseph Smith and Mormonism? Who’s ever seen those golden plates?

Anway, here’s my point. We all need Jesus, and He’s the only road that can take us to heaven. Now, on this side of eternity, getting to Springfield? That’s easy. Just follow whatever road and head 10 miles north and 3 miles west (out of Comfrey). But as for eternity… well, the many roads theory is as gaping as that gigantic crater right now on Country Road 5.

Anywho, today, I’m thankful that Jesus put me on the right road to eternal life. While I’ve caused my own fair share of detours, He got me back onto the paved road that’s taking me home, and for that, I am truly grateful too.

What are you thankful for today? Sound off down below!