FOOD FOR THOUGHT
(04/18/2010)
TUNNEL
VISION
Cindy Hong
The early years were spent in Albany , New York
. A visit to the grandparents in Detroit meant all day in the car. It
was a painful ride, as an hour turned into two hours, then three, four,
five…eight, nine, ten. Miles and miles of highway blurred the landscape
into one big field. The poor parents looked dazed in the front seat, yearning
for peace and quiet, our chatter giving new meaning to surround sound.
The questions Matthew and I asked played off each other, my “Are we
there yet?” harmonized with his “How much longer?” The
hours together have since been relegated to the good memories category.
However, it was passing by the McDonald's and Burger King every few miles
that still brings a jab of pain to the heart—all those French fries
and apple pies beckoning us to stop and partake. While we couldn't wait
to get to Detroit , it was the last leg of the trip that a sense of dread
began to permeate the excitement of almost getting there. By this time
it was dark out, and coupled with that, we had to enter back into the
United States from Canada (Canadian highways are shorter) through the
Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. The tunnel stretched for a mile under the Detroit
River . My dread included visions of the tunnel collapsing, water pouring
into the tunnel, our car not making it to the other end, plus it was just
a long, dark, snakelike part of the trip. As Jesus journeyed to the cross
during Holy Week, I wonder if dread ever occurred to him, especially when
he prayed in the garden. And that road of suffering he walked on that
one not-so-good Friday. And yet, as he made it through the tunnel of grief,
buried in the tomb, and finally emerged resurrected, he inaugurated life
of another kind for us all. He made it to the other end and claimed victory
over sin and death. While Easter Sunday may be over, Eastertide is the
season of Easter that stretches from Easter to Pentecost. It is a season
that is characterized by joy as we celebrate the redemptive reality as
a way of life for us. Because of the resurrection, our former tunnel vision
on things earthly is replaced with a new tunnel vision—eyes on him
and him alone.
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