Following the Leader

That picture? That's what my view was as I drove across I-40 to get home from Freed-Hardeman last week. It literally downpoured and thunderstormed the whole time I was on the interstate. If you know me at all, you know I don't love driving interstate to begin with. But add a deluge, and it's four-hundred times worse. As the rain battered my pour mini-van, my fingers gripped the steering wheel, the warning light came on my dashboard several times to let me know I was hydroplaning, and semi-trucks passed me, dousing us in even more water. At times, it was almost impossible to see the lines on the road. I could have pulled off to the side of the road and hoped the weather would clear in the next little while and we could get on down the road in more comfort. I could have tried to maintain the speed limit instead of backing off to somewhere between 40 and 60 miles an hour most of the way. I could have let my mom or dad drive since they were in the same car. But instead, I followed the leader.
What am I talking about? When it gets so hard to see even the lines at times, what can you see? If the driver in front of you is smart, you can see his tail-lights. So, I focused on those little red orbs travelling the same rainy highway I was. I could see when he slowed down, when the road turned, when he was going straight. And most everyone in the right lane was doing about the same speed I was. It probably wasn't the safest way to travel, but how much worse would it have been without that person in front of me?
As another car passed me on the left, a big black SUV, I almost didn't see it. It didn't have any lights on, and in the grey of the storm, it blended in quite a bit to the water on my windows and the highway under us. And I compared it to the cars I had been using to help guide me down the road. And then, a comparison with life in general popped into my head.
After all, aren't we supposed to be a guiding light to those around us? As Christians, Jesus tells us to be the light of the world, to shine like a city on a hill. As we all navigate the haziness of the world, where culture blurs lines and tells us things are okay that aren't, isn't it nice to have a guide to continue going down the road we want to travel? So, we follow the examples God gave us in the Bible ... and then in turn, we become examples to those who haven't read the Word yet. And the best way to do it is to make sure the light of Jesus shines through us.
What about you? Have you had some amazing lights that have helped you through stormy times in life? I know I have ... and do. I'd love to hear about some of yours.