I live in Ohio. Most months thanks to big temperature changes and precipitation, we have potholes. Some are so bad they could qualify as craters. I’ve lost more than one tire to the roads.

Last month we saw something new in our development. Paving trucks and crew. Street by street they ripped up the pavement and poured down the new. It wasn’t all completed in a day, so we found some roads blocked off. Other roads were ripped and uneven and we had to navigate it while the crews worked a different road, or, the same road, opposite side. Given this happened the first week of school, it was a big headache as buses and families had to figure out how to work around all the construction.

One day the flag person stopped my husband to wait while trucks moved through. The person admitted their work was a hassle, but then he said something profound. “Everyone hates us for a couple days, then they love us for thirty years.”

He’s right. Now that our development is completed, the roads are smooth, new, and still smell of fresh tar to remind you of a job well done. It was tough driving for a long time. Then it was annoying. Now, it’s great. Worth the trouble.

The crews are still working in the area. Around us remain ripped up roads. They are near our completed entrances, so not only are the streets uneven, there are orange signs that say “Bump” to give us a head’s up in case the lack of pavement didn’t already clue us in.

As I groaned driving today frustrated with another day with uneven pavement and in some cases, none of all, that flag person’s words came back to me. It is annoying. It isn’t fun. But in time, I’ll love the results.

Our lives come in seasons much like the natural seasons. If anyone told you a personal relationship with Jesus was all rainbows and candy, I wish I could meet that person. Because they lied and did such a disservice.

The Christian life is hard. I’ve had my seasons where the potholes were craters and I was certain my faith was bottoming out. Infertility. Miscarriage. Loss of parent. Financial hardships. Relationship struggles. We’ve all been there.

Then comes the time when the crews come. There’s no warning, but first thing in the morning there they are, trucks digging to the bottom of the road, lifting it up in chunks and clearing it away. It’s an ugly mess where my help isn’t needed. In fact, the crews wish I’d keep my distance.

For me, that’s the season where healing takes place. God loves me enough not to want me to stay the same. If I allow Him to come in, He’s going to dig deep to the root of my issues and not put a bandage on it. For me to experience true freedom, the old has got to go, so the new will come in. He has to direct the process. In the past it has been reading the Bible. Prayer. Small groups. Sermons. Bible study. Music. Counsel. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t the way I wanted to travel. It was bare. Rough. And took far longer than when the road was full of potholes.

—Julie Arduini

In time, the new pavement was laid down and it was a wonderful, smooth ride. It was almost easy to forget what the development went through to get the new streets. When we leave our little neighborhood and see their ripped roads, the memories come back. There’s also warnings with those “Bump” signs showing us uneven roads are ahead.

Once a healing takes place, it’s a beautiful feeling. I feel so free and on fire. The peace in my heart beats anything the world has to offer me. I’m still tender, but I bask in the position God’s put me in. I don’t just see answered prayer, I am a product of answered prayer. Yet, experience has taught me there will be surprises. Hiccups. Bumps in the road where I discover if lessons learned during construction will be applied. Because I don’t want the pot hole and ripped road seasons to be for nothing, I really work hard to use everything learned in the hard seasons for the future. For His glory and advancement of His Kingdom.

Where the eternal streets are paved with gold.

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In Engaged, Trish Maxwell is under construction. Everyone in Speculator Falls remembers her as the girl who left the village and everyone empty handed. She’s back, and she has a lot of explaining to do. Join Trish as she surrenders her goals and finds freedom in God’s plan. Also available for Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble, Scribd, and more.