Living by the highway

This morning I was gazing out the window, admiring the freshly cut grass after another almost daily rain. Seems like we've had rain nearly every day for a couple of months now and it's amazingly green and wonderful for this normally semi desert plain. Anyhow, after admiring the lawn, my eyes noticed the busy, early morning traffic on highway 59, right next to my backyard, and immediately the familiar thoughts began to run through my mind...."if only I didn't live by this noisy highway!" I've lived right next to this highway (which I've heard is the busiest road in Wyoming due to nearly a dozen coal mines in the area) for 30 years now. I've always wanted to move where it was quieter. I even tried to sell this house...but it didn't sell. Eventually I resigned myself to the idea that this is where God "planted" me. A few years ago, instead of viewing the highway with disdain, I began to get the very persistent thought that I supposed to PRAY for all those people rushing by my house. This morning, I clearly realized how "God's thoughts are not my thoughts and how His ways are not my ways" (Isaiah 55). I can easily view people the way I tend to view that highway....noisy, polluted, and spoiling my dreams and preferences for my life. But, as a Christian, God has called me to lay aside ALL my preferences and opinions for His will and His preferences. It begins with how I view other people. Are they spoiling my peace & quiet or are they other human beings who need God and prayers?  I'm pretty sure God knows exactly why He "planted" me right next to this highway! I'm slowly learning.