Detours

Sometimes there are bright orange signs along the way warning of an upcoming detour, preparing you for the change that is coming. Sometimes it seems the road closed sign appears from out of nowhere with arrows pointing off in the distance, leading to a detour. Those unexpected detours can be a most frustrating event. They can leave you confused and irritated, wondering why you hadn't seen the detour coming and wondering if you'll ever make it to where you wanted to go.

In life, these detours often come in the way of unexpected phone calls, emails sent in the middle of the night, or a surprising announcement. It’s just enough to catch you off guard, to perhaps cause you to stumble for a second before finding your bearings. Sometimes it’s a short detour, a matter of minutes before order seems to be restored. At other times the detour is a longer path, perhaps never returning to the original course.

One such detour happened in my life yesterday. I woke expecting a day of connecting with people and enjoying the company of friends. Before I could set out to enjoy those joyous events, an email came that sent my mind on a detour, imagining possibilities and trying to figure out different scenarios. I found myself caught in a huge shift in plans, feeling excited and overwhelmed all at the same time. The shock wore off a bit today as plans proceeded a bit more normally and I was able to steer back onto my planned path for today—working on grad school assignments. The detour isn’t far from my mind and it leaves me wondering whether I missed the signs. Were there signs along the way that God was trying to use to prepare me for this change? Was I too focused on my destination to take notice of flashing lights and neon orange signs? Perhaps I wasn’t meant to have advance notice. Perhaps it was a way for God to draw my eyes to Him, to move toward trusting Him instead of depending on my own strength. Perhaps…