We drove a car in Italy and survived!
There was only one small collision and it wasn’t our fault
Really!
But we did come close to any number of incidents which could have ended badly!
We picked up a hire car in Florence and with me on navigation duties – off we went! 
My navigation skills were a little dodgy at first and the supposed 5-minute drive out of the city to the Italian motorway involved much circumnavigating of the same few roundabouts and about 30 minutes of driving before we saw the, by then, glorious sight of the autostrada!
Our marriage was saved! The wedding anniversary trip of a life time would go on!
“Which lane should I be in?” my husband asked.
At the same moment dozens of low flying cars screamed up behind us, over took us and screamed off out of sight -  but not before the driver of each car screamed at us!
The drivers were hanging out of their car window, arms waving. The language barrier melted away as in very expressive Italian it was made clear that we were in fact in the wrong lane!
“Which lane should we be in?”
“Not this one” was my quiet reply.
We had stumbled into the fast lane on the autostrada and we did not like it there!
It wasn’t safe.
It was not a happy place!
We really wanted to get out of that lane but we drove on for a while because the cars just did not stop screaming into view, screaming at us and screaming off!
Eventually we realised we would just have to make the decision to change lanes and do it - hoping for the best! 
I can tell you it felt so good when we made it safely into the slow vehicle lane!
Sometimes in life you find yourself in the wrong lane.
Getting out of the wrong lane requires a deliberate decision and some courage.
Swapping lanes is an intentional choice for a better way of living.
Years ago, I made a whole of life lane change in choosing to follow Jesus and to live like him.
What about you? Do you need to make a lane change for a better way of living?
 
 
 Karen Siggins

There is a story behind everyone and everything.
That’s one of the reasons our experiences of life are so varied and each of us, unique.
We’ve all got a story to tell.

Sometimes our stories are quite modest and ordinary; sometimes they are exceptional; some stories get told with ease and others are heartbreaking.

Even so, our stories always share some common ground. We don’t always like to admit that and sometimes we have to hunt for it – but it is there.

And it’s there because there is another bigger story that gives our stories shape.
The bigger story goes like this:...