This is new. In my decades of walking my town, I have become alert to every change in the familiar streets. So, as I pass the park where I started my blogging endeavors a decade ago, I am startled by the brightly colored Adirondack chairs arranged at the blocked entrance to the railroad bridge – one of the most notable features at our juncture with the Susquehanna River.

Who on earth thought to put these here? What a curious spot to gather for a sit-down with friends! Of course, it’s not a thoroughfare – the bridge has been blocked to pedestrians as long as I can remember.

Years ago, a fire burned many of the railroad ties. But even before that, it was a risky undertaking to cross it, even long after the trains stopped running.

So, the ban makes sense. But why linger at the point of denial?

The spiritual connection is so clear to me. There are times when we hit dead ends, when the road we are traveling is blocked. It can cause such turmoil in our souls, especially when we feel God had launched us in that direction. I can picture myself at such barricades in my past (and a few in my present), confused, full of questions, even annoyance.

The longer we stand there, the more we cry out to God for an answer. I can see this tension in the familiar Scriptural cry of “How long?”

How long, O Lord? Will You hide Yourself forever? Ps. 89: 46

But then, there are the chairs. They seem so relational, so invitational. And they send me to search through the Word to see if God ever asked the same question of us. He did. Many times. Here’s one:

How long will you wander, O faithless daughter? Jer. 31:22

Might this be a reason for some of those confusing roadblocks? Perhaps through them God stills our restless motion long enough for a deep conversation, even if that heart-to-heart starts with our angst. I would expect that God would rather have us talking with him from confusion, longing, or even frustration than texting him from the road.

God has a set up a place to talk at the blockades. Alexander MacLaren, 19^th century preacher, thinks this is the reason for those times of waiting on God:

“Yes, God’s delays are not delays, but are for our profit that we may always pray and not faint…”

And these cheery chairs before me, so brilliant in the morning sun, remind me that we are not alone in our wait for the Other. God often waits for us.

Those dead ends are a good meeting place.

Gracious Father, it amazes us that you long to talk with us, to hear our heart, to connect. We recognize how we often need something to stop our wandering in order for that to happen. Help us to recognize where you’ve set up chairs.

Reader: When have you found a fresh connection with God at a roadblock in your life?

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