A round about route

My dad loved cars. He particularly loved fast cars. But in order to be fast, a car also must handle the road well.

One night, when I was 15, it was just Dad and me, in the late hours of the night, or perhaps the early hours of the morning, westbound on I-70. Dad was driving his pride and joy, a 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. Yellow, if it matters.

We were moving along at a pretty good clip when a small sports car pulled alongside. Dad and the sports car driver exchanged a meaningful glance and Dad hammered it. On that section of I-70, only a few miles east of Golden, Colo., and the foothills, there are some well-engineered curves on the highway. The Cutlass and the sports car ran neck and neck through all of the curves and when we reached the Youngsfield exit, Dad and the sports car driver exchanged another meaningful glance and the race -- a draw, was over.

By the time we exited westbound I-70 and turned around to head home, having passed our usual exit at speeds in excess of 100 mph, I was finally able to unclench my hands from the sides of my bucket seat. I guess I thought my hands would hold me safely inside if the seatbelts failed.

As I mentioned, those corners on that section of I-70 are well-engineered for high speeds and if you have a vehicle designed to corner, they are a joy to maneuver. If you don't, if you drive a top-heavy van or SUV for instance, by all means, slow it down a bit ...

Mountain roads are another issue altogether. If you get off the beaten path and traverse some of the lesser known mountain ranges and passes, you're sure to encounter many a hairpin curve. Not only are these sharp curves, almost as tight as a u-turn in some places, they are also often blind curves and great care must be taken to navigate them without crossing the center line, or running out of room on the cliff-side of the road. These roads are specifically designed to take travelers up the mountain, or down, without too much strain going up or too much speed going down. Only as you gain altitude can you see, daring to look down the cliff-side, how tightly woven these hairpin curves are.

On my last mountain trip with Dad, I was driving. His health and vision prevented him from tackling anymore hairpin curves. But we took his car. Another Oldsmobile. I don't remember the model but it had a quad-four engine and front-wheel drive. It was my first time driving a front-wheel drive vehicle and it changed, for the better, the navigation of those hairpin curves.

The best thing about hairpin curves are the new vistas that open as each one is successfully navigated. There is no green like the Lord's green and in the mountains, he reveals differing shades of greens that delight the eyes, and this time of year, adds in the russets and the gold of fall, the shimmering aspen and a virtual rainfall of multi-colored leaves from deciduous trees all along any route. But green is the backdrop to all of that autumnal glory. Whenever Dad would announce a Sunday drive, we all gladly hopped aboard. I was always on the lookout for a white horse, believing with all of my childish heart that wishes on a white horse always come true.

"He leadeth me in paths of righteousness..."

A friend and sister in the Lord recently traveled to the Holy Land. While there a tour guide added one word to the 23rd Psalm that only deepens the peace and wisdom found in that beloved Psalm. He explained that the literal translation reads "round paths of righteousness." Anyone who has tracked animals in mountainous country knows that animals wear a roundabout, hairpin path up steep slopes. The sheep, of course, had no idea where the next step would lead them, their vision and their understanding prohibited any foreknowledge on their part. They simply followed the shepherd they trusted. The shepherd planned the route with great care. He knew the hazards that lay ahead and he knew that the roundabout path, though longer, was easier on the sheep. If you've ever tried to climb straight up a mountain slope, or even some of the steeper roads here in McCook, you know what I mean.

"He leadeth me beside the still waters, he restoreth my soul."

In these latter days, with all of the conflict and uncertainty that plague our lives, we are more and more like sheep following our Shepherd. We don't know where the next step will lead us, we can only see the horizon in front of us, the sheer rock face looming over us and the cliff-side growing steeper and more dangerous on the outer side. We, like the sheep in David's psalm, must trust our Shepherd. I admit it, it's harder for us. We have foreknowledge, because we have history and because we have reason. Therefore, we have at least an elementary understanding of the dangers that loom. But if we follow closely, and carefully, we will see, as we round yet another hairpin corner, a new vista, refreshment for our journey, strength against the steep grade to come and confidence against the hidden path that waits for us tomorrow. He indeed leads us on a gentle, roundabout path, a path of righteousness, for his name's sake.

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me -- " John 10:14 (NIV)