Two weeks ago, I had to attend a function of a Trust at a location I had never been to before. I left my house at 6pm, and Google Maps initially estimated that the location was sixteen kilometers away, a fifty-minute drive. However, as I kept driving, the distance increased and so did the time. The roads were perfect till a point, after which they were absolute hell.
At 6.50pm, Google Maps showed that I was four kilometers away from my destination, a twenty-minute drive. I was thrilled at that time, happy about my destination being just a short distance away, little knowing the crazy test to my sanity those four kilometers would be.
Picture this: there is no tar or concrete road, just a rocky winding road with blind turns and no streetlights, which suddenly goes downhill -- which I was hoping would lead to a better road, but sadly it just got worse. It was already pitch dark, I was driving alone, there was a motorbike with two men right behind me and I was holding onto the steering wheel for dear life hoping that my car's tyres would withstand the torture they were being put through. My car was literally wobbling on those rocks, and it felt like I was on a really bad roller-coaster ride. Thank God for nitrogen-filled tyres!!
On the next bad stretch there were what seemed like a thousand stones on both sides of the terribly narrow road, and vehicles were approaching from the other direction at full speed, right in the middle of the road, not bothering to move slightly to their left in order to allow both our vehicles to pass each other. It seemed like they didn't care if they flung my car onto the fields which were to my left.
I kept repeating to myself "Did I make a mistake coming here?" I really wished I could just turn back and go home, but that wasn't an option because there wasn't any place to take a U-turn and the oncoming vehicles were being driven by maniacs!!
The next rocky stretch had fields on both sides, so narrow that only one vehicle could pass at a time. Ahead there was another vehicle approaching from the other direction, and as I drove further, the driver of that vehicle was considerate (and smart) enough to reverse to the other end of the road so that my car could pass.
That wasn't the end of my ordeal though - after those fields, there was another tiny road flanked on both sides by houses, and ahead was a huge tractor approaching from the other direction. There was a car right behind me, which refused to reverse and instead honked at me to move ahead, which wasn't physically possible. I put my hand out of the window and gestured to him to move behind, but he didn't seem to understand and kept honking.
All this happened in a matter of twenty minutes -- twenty minutes that seemed like eternity! There is no other explanation as to how I reached safely other than God guiding and protecting me.
I was so thrilled when I reached the venue and was happier when I saw that nothing happened to my car's tyres. While returning back home I was accompanied by a kind guest, who showed me a much better and safer route back to the highway.
Moral of the story: Never trust Google Maps blindly, unless you want to take a shortcut through hell.
Also, you are stronger than your worst struggles! So, whenever you feel like giving up, don't!
Thank you for reading! Stay blessed!
©TheKindTempest