Traveling Life's Highway - Marty Coffin EvansMarty Coffin Evans

Traveling Life’s Highway

“Let’s go get lost,” I remember my parents saying when they lived abroad. Taking a driving trip on various highways might be fun. Having no destination could be adventurous.

I wonder if my parents thought about life as a highway. We never talked about that concept although it certainly brings many images to mind.

As I’ve traveled down many highways, I’ve encountered detours, off/on ramps and speed limits. I‘ve seen construction signs and more.

Sometimes, I’ve tried to drive to a destination knowing exactly how to get there. Other times, Waze, or some other navigational system, has provided different routing. Ok, I’ve been known to try to override the suggested route. Yep, I’d soon hear the expected, and repeated, response – “Recalculate!”

I know I’ve taken detours in my life’s journey. Sometimes, my choices haven’t been the best. Perhaps they made sense at the time and not now.

In detouring around life’s highway, I’ve taken off ramps. After a while, I’ve realized the need to return to the highway using a different on ramp. In the interim, between those ramps, I’ve learned about the importance of friendships, faith, community, and what’s really important to me.

If I’m in a hurry, I may miss the beauty outside my car windows. Slowing down, or even relinquishing the wheel, I can savor a rainbow or unusual cloud formations.

Those construction signs get my attention. I remember a dear friend saying we’re all in the act of becoming. Translation – we’re all undergoing some type of construction or reconstruction whether we know it or not. Maybe we’ll get it right sometime. Or will we ever?

“Still there?” has been the Waze question. Although in reference to something on the highway ahead, it could pertain to my life. Where am I on the highway of life? Am I lost, missing road signs or content to “go get lost”? What about you?

January 2026