Next time you're stuck in traffic, turn to God, deacon suggests

Published: 2004-07-06

WILMINGTON, Del. (CNS) -- Deacon Joseph Jackson recalls how he bordered on road rage for several months in 2001. "When people cut in front of me, I took it as a personal invasion of my space," said Deacon Jackson, from St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Hockessin, of his 14-mile daily commute to the DuPont facility in New Jersey where he still works. "I found myself arriving at work very agitated," he said. "I realized I needed to change something." Now, said the 61-year-old Deacon Jackson, instead of getting angry, he prays for those drivers who suddenly swerve in front of his car and smiles as he welcomes other drivers into the traffic flow with a swoop of his hand. He prays that drivers he once might have cursed arrive at their destinations safely. Deacon Jackson and others who pray while they drive offer an alternative to drivers who might be tempted to talk to God in less charitable ways as they inch along in traffic on their way to the beach or another vacation spot. Change those rantings and ravings into prayer and pay attention to the road, Deacon Jackson said, and you will arrive just as quickly and in a much better mood.

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