My youngest daughter doesn’t like the rumble strips on the side of the road. Well, she only minds them when I run over them while she’s in the car!

I don’t intend on hitting them. After all, I only run over them if my tires are off the road, but in some states, the rumble line starts on the outside line, so it doesn’t take much to hit it, especially when the lanes are narrow. And even when I don’t hit them on a long road trip, we can hear other vehicles that do. The sound is still alarming.

Of course, I’m thankful for the rumble strips. They help me remember to stay on the road. It’s as if they yell out, “Hello?! Pay attention! Get back in the safe zone!”

We all need rumble strips in our lives. If we only have painted lines, we’re less likely to notice when we’re inching too close or over the lines. It’s like the thick yellow lines painted on the floor just before getting onto an amusement park ride. The sign says, “Stay behind the yellow line.” But does that mean my toes shouldn’t touch the line at all, my toes shouldn’t actually reach over the line, or my whole body shouldn’t go over the line? And if my toes aren’t supposed to go over it, what about the rest of me? Can I reach my hand out, or does the yellow line assume some sort of cautionary air rights? Will the guidelines change based on who is working and monitoring the ride? Will there be more flexibility for an adult who seems otherwise attentive and compliant over a child who is rambunctious and under-supervised?

Why do we want so much room for interpretation?

We like choices, but sometimes, choices give us too many options and distract us from the real issue. While we’re arguing about our rights to cross the line, the definition of what crossing the line actually means, and whatever else we can argue about, the bottom line remains the same: This line was placed here for your safety. Follow the guidelines.

The boundaries that God set for us are to keep some things in our lives and to keep other things out. Some might complain about the restrictions, but what if we could go anywhere with no rules? Would you end up getting where you’re supposed to go? Would you even be able to get to where you want to go? And we have a lot more freedom than we sometimes recognize. We’re not on a track like an amusement park roller coaster than locks us onto the rail and takes only one route. We have a lot of choices, a lot of freedom.

Including the freedom to choose to drive over the line.

How attentive and intentional to the rumble strips are you in daily life? Make sure you know where they are. Let God put them where they’re not. He knows how and where to put them better than you do, because he knows where and when you’re going to doze off or get distracted. Off road driving can be debilitating and even deadly—physically and spiritually.

This is how we know we love God’s children: when we love God and obey his commands. Loving God means obeying his commands. And God’s commands are not too hard for us, because everyone who is a child of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world—our faith. (1 John 5:2-4)