"Tunnels"

 

“Tunnels”

 

Due to the COVID pandemic Karen and I had to cancel or reschedule three trips we had planned for 2020. So to compensate somewhat I reviewed in my mind some travels of recent years, including a tour of Italy in 2017. For some reason I remember passing through 19 tunnels between two cities. So I became curious, did some research and found some interesting facts:

*Italy has upwards of 1000 road and railroad tunnels.

*China with 16,229 tunnels in 2017 has the most of any country followed by Japan, Norway and Italy.

*The longest railroad tunnel is the Gotthard Base in Switzerland at 57 kilometers/35.5 miles (the Chunnel between England and France checks in at 50.5 km/31 mi)

*The longest road tunnel is the Laerdal in Norway (25 km/15.4 mi).

*The Pennsylvania Turnpike, America’s first “superhighway”, opened in 1940 with seven tunnels.

*Four vehicle tunnels connect Manhattan with New Jersey and Long Island (not to mention the many carrying subways and commuter trains).

By going through or under rather than around or over formidable obstacles tunnels can save travelers time and money. But once entering the passageway there’s no way out until the other end which can cause ventilation issues and claustrophobia for those using them. So they must be utilized judiciously.

There’s an eye condition known as tunnel vision which limits peripheral sight and can severely impact those afflicted with it. But the term also describes such complete concentration on one thing (e.g. a person, idea or goal) that all else is shut out. (I have a tendency to do this and sometimes have to be brought back to reality.) How can I avoid this pitfall? A good start would be heeding Jesus’ admonition, “…(God) will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.” (Matthew 6:33, NLT, emphasis added). So putting God’s claims first enables me to balance other areas of my life. This is a daily choice I must make—I pray I’ll “…fix (my) eyes on Jesus….” (Hebrews 12:2) and avoid the tunnel trap.

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan