Saturday was day two thanks to the complementary tickets. The Xfinity race at the Roval in Charlotte. The cup race is today but I think I will watch my son leave out for that one on his own. He wants to sit in seats where a parachute might come in handy. My dislike of heights, okay fear, puts that way out of my comfort zone. I do however, understand the desire for those seats. Our seats were decent. We could see most of the track, but not the section with all the turns, that travels through the infield. You know, the exciting, challenging part. Even with that though, I told my son, you can’t complain over free tickets.
Saturday started with me not feeling the best. I was terrified that I was about to face a day of Vertigo. Thankfully that did not happen but it did prevent my attending an event I had planned. A Health Fair, cancer awareness event that our Jeep group was attending. It was mid morning when I finally got ready and went to fill the Jeep with gas. I did have to fall in place in line, but thankfully it wasn’t too long of a line. The Jeep filled, we..being me and my mother..headed back to the house. My son was already home from work. I prepared a quick and simple meal, we gathered what we needed, and were on our way.
Everything was fine until we arrived at the track. We were just over an hour early for the race which meant traffic. Crazy, insane, backed up traffic. Cars and people. My son swore he knew of a place with free parking, unless I had twenty dollars. He was not correct. There was no free parking, which I had pretty much figured. I did have twenty dollars. Because I am mom and I try to think of possibilities and take precautions. Once we were parked we headed off walking for the track. As we walked, we met up with and at times passed other people doing the same. Once in a while, (it was a long hike) we passed people going the other way. Finally we reached the masses waiting to cross the roadway in front of the track. The traffic signals had been turned off and the police were doing all traffic directing. Finally we were allowed to cross.
Since we still had time, we wandered through the fan zone again. The only thing we actually stopped at was the motorcycle trick riders. We watched them finish up their act before starting toward the track. I did get my son to make one more lap around, walking by booths we didn’t the first time. There wasn’t a lot of things that caught our interest, but my son did check out some camper/truck thing. Once his curiosity was satisfied, we headed off to find our seats.
We parked on one end of the track, our seats were on the other. This did however at the end of the day help me to attain the number of steps I need for my insurance reward program. The one thing I have noticed, and yes, I noticed it before, but bare with me here. In the fan zone, and all along the concourse inside the track, are booths offering let’s call them goodies. Whether it is souvenirs, drinks or foodstuffs. Temptations at their highest. The cost is not cheap. I had brought a bottle of water with me. My son having reminded me that this was not a long race, the temperature of the day was comfortable, one bottle should be enough. It was. Once I reached my seat, I remained at my seat. My son left only once to go purchase a soda. Late hours the night before, an early morning and working was catching up with him. He needed sugar, and boy did he get it. That soda had over seventy grams.
The race was a good race. There were enough hitting the wall to make it interesting but with no one getting injured, other than their pride. And their chances at advancing. My driver was driving a back up car since he had wrecked during qualifying and the car could not be repaired in time. The driver who won, had driven the race in a car with no power steering. Driving one hundred and nine laps, on a track with seventeen turns. There were other cars with damage, that finished though I don’t know the order.
We waited while the crowd thinned out after the race. My son listening to the interviews while I still sipped from that bottle of water. It was enough. Once he was ready, we did something I didn’t expect. Rather than going down the steps, my son headed off in the other direction. Climbing the steps and moving into an empty walking area. There was nothing there but an area to walk, no stands, no restrooms, no elevators. Periodically there were steps that took one down to the grounds. We walked until we reached the area my son wanted, then we made our way down. Many, many steps down. Thankfully they were divided into sections. Once down, we wandered back over to the fan zone to wait out the worst of the traffic trying to get away.
There was a concert going on at the far end of the fan zone. It was on the same stage as the night before but a different artist. We stayed back from the crowd and listened to several songs. He was good, just didn’t carry the same energy and crowd participation as Brett Michaels did. At one point, and I wish I had gotten a photo, a gentleman passed by us. He was sitting in a lawn chair that was mounted on a single tire of sorts. He was cruising across the area and living large. Finally my son motioned for us to leave. Our dogs were home waiting to be fed.
For some unknown, even to him reason, he chose to drive the interstate home. The interstate that is always congested and usually filled with wrecks. Finally though we did make it home. We got the dogs fed and then fed ourselves. Thirty minutes later I took care of the kittens, trying to stay as close to schedule for their medication as possible. It wasn’t long after that, I gave up and called it a night.
Here though, are my observations as a Christian. Remember, this are my thoughts.
Jesus the Christ, offers us a free for the taking redemption. He left His Heavenly throne, came to earth as man, for the sole purpose to purchase our freedom through death. A horrible, painful, humiliating death. Three days later, he defeated that death and arose from the grave. All who believe, ask for that all ready paid for forgiveness and turn from sin, are welcomed into His family. Their names written indelibly in the Book of Life.
That said, the life of a Christian is not and is not meant to be, an easy one. As a sojourner, we will face many hardships, many trials, many storms. All the way up until we reach the end of our journey. We will face many temptations along the way. We will see the shiny things that catch our eye. We will see the many offerings that we know are not good for us. Whether it is fermented drink, or a food product that we know we should avoid. If we have placed our trust in Jesus, He will assist us along the way. One example, during the race, I heard an announcer mention funnel cake. I love funnel cake. However funnel cake is not something that would be good for the way of eating I am adopting for better health. After the race we passed the booth that had funnel cake, they were closed.
As we walk, there will be times when we are among crowds of people. Some will be traveling the right direction. All headed for the place intended. Ever so often, we will pass those going in the opposite direction, the wrong direction. At a sporting event, it may be they are simply taking those souvenirs to their car. In life, they could have somehow, through a variety of actions, placed themselves on the wrong road. In that situation, one cannot reach out, grab an arm and turn people around with a ‘hey, wrong way’. If we stop and think honestly, we too have made mistakes in our journey. It takes compassion, caring, gentle instruction and guiding,and a lot of praying.
I managed to get hold of free tickets to a sporting event. The two days they were good for were amazing. The events at the track were fun and we made a lot of memories. All it took was accepting the tickets and the journey there. Making our way through traffic issues along the way a slight inconvenience, but the end results were worth the troubles. Some say, that we are seeing the sings signaling the end of time. That we may be in that play off stage of life. I don’t know if that is true, or if so, how close we may be. Jesus Himself said that only God knows when that time will come. Not even the angels know, so how could I, humble that I am, dare to say when that time will be. But. Imagine if you can, how much better it will be, when at the end of your journey, you stand at the gates of Heaven before Jesus, and hear the words, “Well done. Good and faithful servant”
Words from The Dirt Road 