Reductor de Velocidad

Whenever you take your course on survival driving in Costa Rica, one of the lessons you will learn during your first week is the meaning of this phrase, reductor de velocidad. For most of you this item will be better recognized by its English name: speed bump. Loosely translated, it means "velocity reducer", and they definitely do their job well.

Lots of countries utilize speed bumps, but here in Costa Rica they have some that resemble small mountains. The car God has blessed us with, a Toyota Corolla, is a great car, but it definitely lacks in the area of how high it sits off of the ground.

Because of this, we have to slow to a crawl while crossing the velocity reducers in order not to loudly scrape the frame of our car across the raised mound of concrete.

Sometimes the speed bumps are helpfully painted a bright yellow. Sometimes they are left as black as the road around them so you don't see them until it is too late.

Although I might complain about the speed bumps sometimes, I do realize and appreciate their function. Without them, there would be a lot more accidents or the potential for them.

These reductors de velocidad got me to thinking the other day.

God uses speed bumps in my life.

There are times when I get to moving along too quickly in my life and I need to slow down before having a crash of some sort. Some times God allows me to crash, but many times He puts a speed bump in my life in an attempt to slow me down for my own good.

There is a difference between a speed bump and a wall. If you hit a wall you will stop, but a speed bump is only designed to reduce your velocity.

Here are some examples of speed bumps that God has used to slow down my pace.

- Illnesses (my own or my children's)
- Long unavoidable lines
- Power outages
- Received phone calls
- Friends or neighbors dropping by

Slowing down at speed bumps is still optional isn't it? You can choose to hit them going full speed and get over them quickly. Now you will probably trash your car and leave your muffler behind you, but it can be done.

In the same way, I can choose to not yield to the speed bumps God puts in my life. I can plow right through them being frustrated and irritated that my "agenda" was disrupted, or I can take the God provided opportunity to slow down and catch my breath.

Has God ever put speed bumps in your life?

It is far to easy in today's world to develop a lead-foot lifestyle. We have a tendency to keep the petal to the metal all of the time. Praise God that He will intervene at times and give us the chance to regulate our speed back to something healthy.

What kind of speed bumps has God used to slow you down?