“I’m looking forward to the Sea Island road closure,” said no one, ever. In fact, the Island has been abuzz about the impending doom that will ensue once the orange signs go up telling us all that we have to go the long, slow way around. How much extra time will it take us to get around the Island? Will it affect turn out at various events? Will it really be done in eighteen days? (For the record, my responses are: a lot, probably, and that’s what prayer is for, respectively)

To be clear, I am among the throngs who are annoyed that my life will be disrupted by this construction project. My rational side tries to remind me that it is necessary, and a part of living in a place with limited ways to get around. It doesn’t happen very often, but it does happen. It’s part of the package deal for living in a place like this, sort of like the sand gnats. I’m undecided as to which will rank worse for me; you’ll have to ask me after the work is completed and the road is open.

Despite my writing a reflection for this past Advent’s Living Compass book on practicing patience, I am not the most patient person. Especially when I am behind the wheel. I don’t think I cross the line into road rage – I don’t yell profanities at other drivers, and I have never given the middle finger salute to another driver. I get frustrated with them though, and have been known to talk to drivers who are driving slower than I like or who do stupid things like cutting me off or speeding up to the merge point. But for me, the worst thing of all is sitting in traffic. I am the kind of driver who will take a longer route just to keep moving. Anything but sitting in traffic is preferable.

But, what if we could transform our extra time in the car this month? What if we could find a way to see the extra hours spent on Frederica and Demere Roads as a gift? Sure, it’s probably on par with the ugly Christmas sweater that you have to work to find an excuse to wear, but the potential is there. Hear me out, and remember, this is coming from “Fr. Get Out of the Left Lane if You’re Not Passing.” What if instead of being upset by sitting in traffic, we use the time for something pleasant and life-giving?

I have two examples. If you’re sitting with someone in the car, you get extra time with them to have meaningful conversation. Sometimes it’s easier to have conversations in the car because we’re not sitting across from someone, but next to them. Parents learn that pre-teens are much more chatty in the car than they are at home, for example. So, you could use your extra time to have some good conversation and build the relationship with the person your share your commute with.

The other is to use your extra car time as meditative time. Now, you probably don’t want to do eyes-closed meditation. Neither the person in front of you or your insurance company will like the outcome of that endeavor. Instead, shut off the radio, especially if it’s political talk radio debating the results of caucuses and primaries. Instead, use the quiet time to offer some prayers about your day, or for the drivers around you. You can also just enjoy the silence and see if God has anything to say to you while you wait. And when you encounter the jerk who is bound to be impatient like the former-you would have been before this Rambling, you can respond with compassion and a generous spirit: “Forgive them, Father, for they know not that they are a jerk.”

I realize this is a tall order, but we have to do something. If the whole island is cranky for three weeks, it is going to have other consequences. I think we’ll see a lot more aggressive shopping in the grocery stores if someone eyes a lane to the super sale on bananas. We will have all this time we wouldn’t normally have had because we’d have been rushing on to the next thing, so let’s use it for good. We can practice patience, although in this case it’s unlikely that practice will make us perfect. These are just my first two ideas though, and perhaps you have more. Whatever you do, remember the things that are most important in life, and remember that this too shall pass…as soon as the car in front of us is out of the way.

Tom+

Four simple prayers for sitting in traffic, suitable for repetitive use:
God, give me strength to overcome the mishaps of my day.

God, give me the patience to overcome small annoyances.

God, give me peace when I am feeling anxious.

God, give me joy, even when I’m feeling grumpy.

And, a bonus Prayer for February’s construction:
God, let the workers be safe and swift as they can be...and certainly take no more than eighteen days. Really. Please?