Fixing Our Eyes
Every time I drive through Moreno Valley,
just east of Riverside, California, I remember the first time I visited
the famous racetrack that was formerly located there. The track is
long gone and mostly buried beneath a shopping mall. In 1957, on the
site of a turkey ranch, they carved out a challenging track known as
Riverside International Raceway. In the late 1960’s, when I was barely
twenty and finishing college in Arizona, I raced a Mini Cooper sedan in
amateur SCCA races in Arizona and California. Eventually, I got to
race at Riverside.
Most of the tracks in Arizona, like Phoenix
International Raceway, had very few elevation changes while Riverside
had many. I recall one of the most challenging turns on the track was
Turn 7, a sharp, downhill, left-hand turn where the elevation change
made it impossible to see if another car was spun out or if several
cars had gotten together beyond the hilltop. The lifeline of
information for drivers was the corner flagman stationed in a flag
station at the top of that hill. He and his partner had a perfect field
of vision and could see both the approaching race cars and the blind
corner that was beyond the top of the hill.
As an occasional corner worker myself, I knew
that the flagmen were volunteers who did this hot, thankless job on
weekends because of their love for the sport. All they received for
their day’s work was a wave of thanks from race drivers on their cool
off lap. Sadly, we were aware of accidents where racecars had gotten
off course and injured or killed corner workers.
We knew that if there was an incident beyond
our field of vision the flagman would reach into his flag box and pull
out the yellow flag. If he was waving that yellow flag we knew to
expect a serious problem and likely a car on the track surface in the
racing line. If he was holding the flag stationary we knew there was
an accident that they had moved off the racing line but might still be
a hazard. Throwing your car over the hill at almost 100 MPH into a
blind corner does not come naturally, or without a certain amount of
fear, but soon I began to stop worrying about the corner and instead
glanced to the side to focus on that flagman. As long as he thought it
was all clear, I knew it was safe.
When I thought about the danger that could
lurk beyond the crest of the hill, it was easy to feel fear well up
again. But when I looked at that official standing still as a statue,
I knew there was nothing to fear and all would be OK. Soon, a group of
four of us broke away from the field and were doing wheel to wheel
battle. Lap after lap, we approached the corner at high speed, passing
other cars and being passed, all while we raced for position. In the
midst of all the competition, and being only inches from other cars
with all our little engines screaming at 8000RPM, I continued to make
that official my primary focus. Everything else in my life, at that
moment, was secondary. Before the race was completed we approached the
turn and saw the flagman waving the yellow flag. We slowed as we
crested the hill and saw that several cars had collided and were
getting themselves untangled. Without that timely warning we would have
plunged over the hill and become additional victims at the crash scene.
What a beautiful picture of what our focus on
the Lord should be like. He can see us where we are and where we are
going and can see what is around the corner that is beyond our field of
vision. We can be consumed by worry and fear but really only need to
glance away from our circumstances and focus on Him to experience His
peace.
Heb 12:2 NIV
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
As holocaust survivor Corrie Ten Boom put it
so well, “Look around and be distressed; look within and be depressed;
look at Jesus and be at rest”
Thank you Lord that we can rest in you and
that you are always there patiently waiting for us to fix our eyes on
you. Amen.
Richard Lewis
Pathway Christian Church
Riverside, CA
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