We are on our annual RV trip. It has been great getting out of the house and into our second house after this quarantine season. It’s hard to believe how long we have been away from each other. Even now, as we travel, we can’t be seen smiling at those we meet as we are all wearing masks. It’s definitely a different trip.

Brian has done most of the driving so far. As I drove a small stint, though, I was reminded of how we needed to accept the challenges of our lives. You see, when I was younger, my dad used to let me help him drive. He would allow me to hold onto the steering wheel and drive while his feet were on the pedal  and his hand lightly held the steering wheel with me.

One time, as we were driving around a curve, a semi truck came right towards us. Scared to death, I intelligently let go of the steering wheel and closed my eyes. As I’ve been driving the RV, one thing I’ve learned from past experiences is to NOT let go of the steering wheel when a semi comes towards me or even beside me. 

When a semi comes near another large vehicle, like an RV, the draft off of the semi moves said vehicle. I’ve found out that when I see a semi coming up beside me, I have three options: 

1. Speed up.
2. Ignore it
3. Accept it 

When the semi is coming, speeding up only delays the inevitable. The semi always catches me. When I ignore the semi, I’m thrown off guard and scramble to adjust when it is right next to me. I’m still adjusting the RV after it passes me; therefore, making the adjustment a longer process. When I accept it’s coming next to me, I continue to look back and forth from the mirror to the road in front of me. I anticipate it coming right beside me and ever so slightly, I move the steering wheel TOWARD the semi. When I lean in and accept its coming, I’m able to adjust and then it’s done. 

We tend to do the same thing in life with the challenges of life. 

1. We speed up by trying to out-think the challenge. We come up with multiple ways to beat the challenge — to get ahead of it. 
2. We ignore it by getting busy. If we don’t think about it we hope it will just disappear. 
3. We accept it by acknowledging it is really happening and we adjust our expectations and deal with the challenge accordingly. 

In life, when faced with challenging circumstances, I’ve found option #3 to be the least impactful for me. I accept the challenge, give myself pep talks that I can make it, pray a lot and then adjust my moves and expectations. It’s still stressful and sometimes painful, but it seems to move on more quickly than if I ignored it or tried to work around it. 

We’ve all had our challenges with COVID-19. What semi trucks have come toward you or beside you? In what ways are you dealing with the challenges presented to you? How would it look if you accepted your challenges today? What adjustments do you need to make today? Comment below of what you’ve learned during this quarantine. 

© 2020 Susan M. Sims

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