DETERMINATION ROAD

I remember the last vacation that I took with my family. It was a friend’s wedding in Wisconsin and we decided to make it a vacation since we had never visited Wisconsin and Wisconsin is home to the famous Wisconsin Dells with its numerous waterparks. We decided to make it a road trip.

We got everything ready for the trip. We had the car washed. The engine was recently serviced so we knew we were in good shape. We checked to make sure the gas tank was full. We got everything else packed. Everything was finally in place. We were ready for the trip, nothing can go wrong now, or so we thought.

It was time to go and the kids were so excited. We got in the car and started our journey to Wisconsin. We were almost halfway to our destination when we got a flat tire. It is amazing how tires sometimes pick up nails in the most unlikely places.

A flat tire would have been a minor problem to fix if there was air in the spare tire but that was something we overlooked during our preparation. The spare tire was not in a good shape and to compound our problem, we were in the middle of nowhere so it was difficult trying to get a phone signal and as much as we tried, our effort proved futile so we couldn't call for help.

We were nowhere near a gas station where we could have gotten a air pump for the spare tire so we knew this was going to be a very big problem. A problem we did not anticipate.

We continued our trip after a lot of hassle trying to stop one of the many oncoming cars so we could get help to the nearest gas station.

With the increasing crime rate in our society it was not an easy task trying to get someone to stop and help. We almost brought the children out so they know we meant no harm.

We didn’t expect more than we got which was a couple of hours of trying before we finally got help. We were almost at the point of continuing our road trip by foot. This incident caused us about half a day of our already squeezed up vacation time. We took care of the problem and continued our trip.

Although we wasted almost a day on the road, we made up our minds that the vacation was going to be as much fun as we had planned so we spent every second and every minute of our remaining time making memories while in Wisconsin. We did not let the interruption along the way affect the rest of our journey. Once we overcame the problem, everything else fell into place.

Our journey through life can be likened to our road trip. In life there are lots of unexpected occurrences and uncertainties and even as much as we try to foresee likely events that could happen and be proactive we still end up getting pleasant and unpleasant surprises.

Like our road trip, you start off making plans and making sure you have all your needs in place. You make sure you have everything ready for your planned trip so everything could be smooth sailing. Then the unexpected happens. You get that flat tire, or an engine problem. You could run into a pothole or even meet a roadblock along the way.

When we go through unpleasant situations, the ability to stop for a brief moment to fix the problem before we move on will make it possible for us to get to where we need to be. Can you imagine continuing on a journey with a flat tire or moving on along the road with an overheated car? You could end up getting your engine knocked or you could even cause a fatal accident.

As we drive along the beautiful, busy, hectic and sometimes difficult road of life, let us be mindful of impedements along the road to where we are headed. At times drawbacks could be difficult to overcome but with a lot of perseverance and focus we can make it successfully.

If at anytime you meet that roadblock, find a detour and make your way around it home.You know where you are headed so focus on your mission while you take care of neccessary conditions along the way.

Have you had your yearly physical done? Did you go see the doctor for that constant pain in your belly? That disturbing growth that you discovered, when are you going to have it checked out?

You have all of that vacation time piled up and you would rather get paid in exchange for your time off. I know things could get really difficult at times and that vacation money could go a long way in helping out but when are you going to enjoy all of your hard work. Take some time off to give yourself a treat.

If at any time in life you feel tired, take some time off to take care of yourself after all when on a road trip and you get tired or sleepy, you have to park the car and take a rest. Be confident in your ability but if you feel the need to take a moment to relax, then take that break.

Let us drive safely as we move on towards achieving our goals in life. We must not let the hiccup along the road affect the rest of our journey. At the same time when we set goals, we can drive in the right direction towards the goals and move on successfully by taking care of those obstructions if any along the way and overcoming all obstacles with determination.