A couple years ago a cable barrier was erected in the median between the eastbound and westbound freeway lanes in our county. As cops, we were not too happy with it because it prevents us from crossing the median to turn around and go the other direction when we receive a call for service or need to chase down a speeder. There are emergency turn-around spots about every 3-5 miles that we can use, but having no cable barrier was much more convenient for us.
Within a week of its installation I saw it save the lives a father and his two sons. They were traveling eastbound when the driver of a westbound semi-truck fell asleep and crossed the median. The semi hit the cable barrier, continued through the median into the eastbound lane and then - like a giant rubber band, the cable barrier yanked the semi back into the westbound side of the freeway. The dad told me that if the barrier hadn't been there, the semi would have hit him and his sons head-on.
A few weeks ago a very elderly woman decided to go for a drive. As you can see from the picture above, it was a beautiful day in the mountains. She was traveling along, looked down to adjust her heater and swerved into the cable barrier. She took out about 10 posts, ripped off the front, left side of her car, and blew out one of her tires. She continued to drive for 6 miles and finally stopped when two of us chased her down.
When we got her stopped, I asked her what happened and she told me that she had hit something in the road but didn't know what it was! Once again, the cable barrier had accomplished its purpose. It had prevented her from crossing into oncoming traffic and causing a terrible accident. Her car was banged up and needed to be towed, but she - and everyone else out there that day - had survived.
After talking to her I thought of how the commandments of our Heavenly Father are much like the cable barrier. The commandments are designed to keep us on the roadway. At times we hit them at high speed and get banged up a bit. We experience pain and suffering from bouncing against the commandments, but they keep us from being completely destroyed. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can be repaired and continue on our journey. God knows all of the dangers we face - and He is primarily concerned with dangers which will cause our eternal destruction. His commandments, while not always convenient, will keep us on the road and lead us safely home. We can fall asleep or lose focus on what we are doing and drift off the roadway, but the commandments will bounce us back where we need to be.
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