I have reason to travel along Douglas Avenue with great regularity. Driving from Hennepin Church toward Lake of the Isles, on my way to hospital calls, nursing homes, or simply to eat my lunch by the lake. Sitting in the sun, watching joggers, walkers, and geese, makes lunchtime seem like a vacation…short but still a nice break. Along Douglas, every so many feet there is a yellow sign that boldy reads "BUMP" and signals the wise and cautious to slow down…..a bump in the road is about to appear. Sure enough, a raised area in the road of about four to five feet causes the car to bounce, thud, or make generally angry noises if not approached with care.

Today as I was coming back from a peaceful lunch, I was caught by an idea…..wouldn’t it be grand if life had "BUMP" signs. Bump…..a change in your life is about to happen. Bump…..illness ahead. Bump….argument on the horizon. Bump……relationship on the skids. Bump……..you can fill in the blank. It would be nice to get a really direct message that a bump in the road -or life- is about to happen. But it rarely works that way. Instead, we are caught off guard, with little planning and find ourselves floundering with the "what now?", "what next?" "what if?" that follow the bumps.

Bumps cause us to slow down long enough to know where we truly are….to live in the present moment….to take a deep breath, plant our feet, become grounded again. Those "what" questions can be the place of real creativity. They can make the bumps seem almost like gifts. The bumps can be the wake up call we need to change course, think in a new way, try a different tactic, or simply stand still for awhile.

The sciptures are filled with people responding to life’s bumps and bruises, life’s twists and turns. Think Moses….Esther….Jesus……Mary…….all living faithful lives, being open to God’s movement, caught up in the dance of the Holy Spirit. Easy lives? No. Faithful? Yes.

My mother used to say "life is not always fair or easy,but it is always worth it." I think she’s right…bumps and all.