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Detour

When taking a journey, often we are forced to take detours. Signs along the way take us around obstacles and dangerous situations. How we respond to these may help or hinder our final destination.

Obviously, I'm going to make a connect to life's journey here. We made our plans to move and here we sit, not knowing our destination. It looks right now like we will take a detour through our son and daughter-in-law's home before we find our own landing spot. Not the route we planned on.

But fighting the detours is dangerous. I remember a college acquaintance telling of a trip his mother took. She saw the signs saying, Do Not Enter, but wanted that particular road anyway. So around the barrier she went, up the ramp and stopped just short of a steep drop where the ramp ended, unfinished, in thin air.

We are often like that determined lady. We have a destination in mind, and a route, and onward we march (or drive) unwilling to be detoured by obstacles or signs. Now, sometimes we need to be that determined, but we must be willing to watch the signs along the road to go where God guides us, and not let the temporary detours upset our plans. We do not know what God has in mind while we stay in that temporary home. Perhaps our new place is not ready for us yet, or perhaps he has a lesson I need to learn first.

Lessons along the road come from quiet trust in God's bigger plan. I don't need to rush or panic and hit the gas, so to speak. Sometimes we need to put on the brakes, take a deep breath and watch the signs for direction.

The best road map is God's word, always up to date and current on every detour and road condition!




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