Keep your eyes on the road!

  It is true!  I now have four wheels of my own to tootle around in here in Whangarei!  It is a blue-green 1996 Nissan Sentra 5-door hatchback, a reliable little car. Though I still prefer to walk as much as possible, I no longer have to block out hours of my day just to get my shopping done or run (literally) into town to do errands. Woo hoo!         

For you North Americans who have driven in Europe, Australia or the UK, you know that driving on the left side of the road can be a bit exhausting at first.  It's a bit discombobulating when all the natural patterns and instincts you once relied upon are no longer natural; in fact, quite the opposite. You are operating from a different mental framework, one that is upside down, inside out, and requires effort.  I'm often verbally reminding myself to stay left. ..  keep the driver in the middle of the road. . .no left turns on red. . . blinker is on the right . .. shift with the left hand . .. keep your eyes on the road, etc. Sounds silly, I know.

Perhaps this is a bit like walking with Jesus.  When he renews our mind and fills us up with Him, we begin to approach life from a different framework, a different perspective.  . .an eternal one. Yes, it requires some effort, because of course the way we lived before wasn't working, so we have to learn a new way of doing things. As we allow Him to swap out the old heart for the new one day by day, our senses are heightened. Our skills of observation increase as we look for evidences of Him and spot His footprints on the trail of daily life.

As I take to the "other" side of the road here in New Zealand, my eyes are wide open. .  . not only to see the traffic ahead of me, but to see the way of the Master.

ps- thought you'd enjoy a few more pics of the beauty of New Zealand!