Don’t settle on being the Settlers route

Let me tell you a story about the Settlers route. Well, it is not so much a story as it is real, but I will tell you anyway. The first time I remember going to Gauteng from Lebowakgomo, where I grew up, was in 1995 for a school trip. I do not remember much about the trip except for the airport’s airplane viewing decks and the trip to the zoo. What I also remember is that the route we took, was said to have lots of potholes. If anyone has traveled to Gauteng from Lebowakgomo using the Settlers route then, they will tell you how much of a pain it was to travel on it. Guess what!? I traveled on the same route a few days ago and nothing much has changed. Twenty-five years later and the Settlers route is still known for potholes.

Those who do not know the route might think that it has been left unattended by the infrastructure departments for those years, but in actually fact, work is done on it every single year – hundreds of thousands worth of patch work. The holes are patched and after a few rains and a few hundred tyres over the holes, they open again. Most people believe that the solution is to take the entire tarred road out and start again because repairing a worn-out tarred road only stresses the new bits out. The route is busy daily as it passes through multiple farms that provide food for South Africa and other countries. There aren’t many alternative routes to use should it be closed for refurbishment, so it creates a problem. Its closure will affect many things, but it might be the only way to ensure it changes.

Now that you know all about the Settlers route, you are probably wondering where I am going with this. Is there something in your life that is not good that people or you have always known about you? Someone meets you after ten years and you are still struggling with the same thing? Still a gossip, a player, still have bad work ethic etc. Personal things also count. Perhaps you are still struggling with the same bitterness you harbored 20 years ago, same bad habits – whatever it is. Perhaps you have done lots of patch work on the trait – trying to cover it up but it opens up after a few rains or after you have been stepped on or tempted a few times. It is time to close shop and allow God to totally remove the road and build a new one. Maybe you have to take time off from all the busyness to pray and seek God about that. You cannot be the same Settlers route you knew yourself to be 25 years ago. Refuse.