Detour
“My thoughts,” says the Lord, “are not like yours, and my ways are different from yours. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways and thoughts above yours.” –Isaiah 55:8-9, GNT
Last week, I drove “home.” Home is where I can visit my parents, driving the country roads while the scent of fragrant ripe peaches that have fallen to the ground greet me on each side. Home is where I see sites that haven’t changed. Ever. But the route there is via one of California’s well known highways and on it—between my start and end point—a major construction project is taking place. The same road I drove when I went there to celebrate Independence Day with my family just about a month ago has now been re-routed to an “overpass” type of road that takes you up and around the former road. The speed limit is adjusted down for the project, and there are some new curves that were a little bit of a surprise. Even my youngest son exclaimed, “Whoa. This is way different.”
When our lives have been re-routed, no doubt the curves and turns can surprise us. But just like I reached the end of that adjusted route, and things returned to “familiar” as I neared the outskirts of my hometown, God is faithful to bring us back to the comfort we need at the end of the unexpected detour. These experiences can sometimes bring us to a new place of appreciation. Sometimes it can have us reflecting on the excitement of the detour. Sometimes that inconvenient and unplanned detour is for our very protection!
“…Instead, God said, ‘For if they see battle with those contentious Philistines, they might regret their decision and then return to Egypt.’ So God chose a different, longer path that led the community of His people through the desert toward the Red Sea. The Israelites marched out of the land of Egypt like an army ready for battle.” –Exodus 13:17-18, The Voice
And just as I wasn’t surprised by the road on the way back—but rather prepared for the twists and turns—our life detours can prepare us for the next time. Because the detours come without fail. Always. But whatever I feel about the detour, it helps me to ask God, “What is it that You want me to see in this detour?” Sometimes, the answer amazes me!
