Held on the High Road
Click below to listen to the reach:
There’s a reason the Blue Ridge Parkway is often called “America’s Favorite Drive.” For me, it’s more than just a stretch of road - it’s a place where the presence of God feels thick in the air.
The morning after photographing an elopement in North Carolina, I found myself leaving earlier than planned and decided to take the scenic route home. I turned onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, knowing the slower, winding miles would be worth the detour. A steady, unhurried rain fell - the kind that keeps most travelers away - so the road was quieter than usual. Every bend was hushed, every overlook empty; honestly, that’s when the Parkway is at its best: when the crowds are gone, the world feels smaller, and you’re free to take in the beauty of our Creator.
On my drive, I came around a bend and noticed an overlook ahead. Pulling in, I was met with a view that stopped me in my tracks - fog flooding the mountains like a rolling tide. It was breathtaking. But in my awe, I didn’t notice the jagged curb lining the lot. My car did.
The jolt rattled me, and immediately my thoughts spiraled. Did I just ruin one of my BRAND-NEW tires? What if it’s punctured? Do I even know how to change a tire??
I pulled back onto the Parkway and switched on my tire pressure monitor, my eyes bouncing back from the screen to the road. My heart raced as I waited for the numbers to drop. My mind was a storm of worst-case scenarios. Anxiety shouted louder than reason.
But then, in the middle of my spiral, I caught myself.
Shelby, what are you doing?
Talk about first world problems. I knew better. I knew there was a better way. So I began to pray.
It wasn’t fancy or long - just a whispered plea. “Lord, please let my tire be okay. But even if it’s not, help me guide me on what to do. Help me handle this well.”
It wasn’t fancy or long - just a whispered plea. “Lord, please let my tire be okay. But even if it’s not, help guide me on what to do. Help me handle this well.”
Almost instantly, I noticed the pressure reading rise, not fall. My shoulders loosened. My breath came back. And in that moment, I felt the gentle conviction of the Holy Spirit: Look at how quickly you let anxiety consume your thoughts. Look at how fully it colored your view of this moment. Look how fast you pulled away from Me.
The Battle in the Mind
That overlook on the Parkway turned into more than just a stop for a foggy mountain view. It became a lesson in how powerful our minds are - and how desperately we need God to renew them.
Paul puts it plainly in Romans 12:2:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will.”
The world’s pattern is worry. It’s fear of the worst outcome. It’s the frantic need to control what we cannot control. And my reaction to what was simply a curb and a tire proved just how easily I slip into that pattern. Maggie wrote so beautifully about this last week as well - the fact it came to me again this week shows it is such a prevalent, reoccuring human struggle. (please dive into her Reach from last week - it is remarkable!)
Transformation begins when I invite God into the very thoughts that run wild in my head. When I take every anxious scenario, every what-if, and hold it up against the truth of who He is.
Paul echoes this in Philippians 4:6–7:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Notice the order - prayer comes before peace. Prayer is the bridge from chaos to calm. Not because prayer magically fixes everything, but because it hands control back to the One who already holds it.
Held, Not Just Helped
Here’s the thing: I didn’t pray because I believed God owed me a miracle of an unscathed tire. I prayed because I needed to be held by Him - whether the tire was fine or flat.
Too often, we treat prayer like a vending machine: insert request, expect result. But prayer is not about getting all we want; it’s about remembering Who holds us when life veers off course.
Prayer is also a way of focusing our minds back on God. Especially in weeks like this past one, when the world feels heavy and the headlines never stop, it’s so tempting to get lost on social media or caught up in the noise of culture. But prayer offers a better way. It shifts our attention from the chaos around us to the steady presence of God. It reminds us that our peace doesn’t come from having every answer or every outcome guaranteed - it comes from knowing the One who is already in control.
The truth is, sometimes the tire does blow. Sometimes the fog doesn’t lift. Sometimes the road ahead is long and rain-soaked. But God doesn’t promise to clear every obstacle. He promises His presence in every mile.
Isaiah 41:10 is one of my favorite reminders:
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Held. Upheld. That’s who we are on the high road of faith - not people with perfect circumstances, but people upheld by a perfect God.
A Renewed Mind on the Parkway
As I drove those remaining three hours home, the fog still danced across the mountaintops. My car hummed steadily along, the tire perfectly fine. But what stayed with me wasn’t relief about the tire - it was the reminder that my mind is quick to spiral, but God is quicker to still me.
Renewing the mind doesn’t mean you’ll never feel anxious again. It means you’ll recognize the spiral sooner. It means you’ll know where to turn when fear starts shouting. It means you’ll find yourself praying - not as a last resort, but as a first response.
And slowly, steadily, the Spirit reshapes the pathways of our thoughts until peace becomes more familiar than panic.
Maybe today you’re watching your own “tire pressure monitor,” waiting for something to go wrong. Maybe you’re consumed with the what-ifs of life - about your job, your family, your future. Your mind won’t stop racing, and you feel powerless to calm it down.
Let me remind you: you are not powerless. You have a Father who is both near and strong, both present and in control.
When the fog closes in and you can’t see more than a few feet ahead, remember that you are held. When the road feels uncertain, remember that He already knows every turn. And when your mind spirals into fear, turn your thoughts back toward Him - again and again, as many times as it takes.
Because peace doesn’t come from knowing how the road ends.
Peace comes from knowing Who is with you on it.
