Detours, we all face them. Sometimes they are real, and sometimes they are in our minds. Whatever form they take, we can deal with them in the same way. Who of us has not been driving somewhere and been late and run into an annoying detour. Our first reaction is to get mad and ask, “Why me?” We focus on the fact that we do not have time to deal with this kind of setback. Detours can happen in life too. We feel like we are on the right path, and everything is going smoothly. We have our days fine-tuned, and everything runs on schedule to the minute. Then out of nowhere, we hit a bump in the road and everything changes. Maybe it’s a sick child or spouse. Or perhaps one of our parents becomes ill or we suffer an injury. Whatever the roadblock is, the feeling for all of us is the same. We experience anger and frustration and ask, “Why me?”

Roadblocks and detours are sometimes placed in our path to help us see the beauty in life or to take us on a learning journey that will strengthen our faith and our walk with God. Think about it, you are driving down the road and you hit a detour. You have to get off the main road and try to find your destination in a new way. What do most of us do? Quite often we end up following the car in front of us, all the while hoping that these newly appointed Magellans know where they are going. It sort of becomes a procession of sorts. “If the car in front of me turns, so will I.” While following the car in front of us often gets us to the desired location, we may miss something along the way. If we spend all of our time focusing on what’s in front of us and not on what is around us, we may miss the beauty.

If you are like me, you live in an area of the country where there are a lot of beautiful sights to see. Maybe it’s an old barn or farmhouse or perhaps a beautifully misshaped tree, or a baby lamb. Whatever the beauty is, it is our job to find it. When we do, it changes our attitude and effects our day in a positive way, and we would have never seen it had it not been for the detour. I believe that sometimes God does put detours in our path. He can use these detours to show us the beauty in life.

So, the next time you experience a detour in your life, let God lead you. Follow Him like you would the car in front of you. If He makes a turn, make it with Him. Trust God’s quiet, small voice. I guess in a lot of ways, God is like a little Heavenly GPS. One has been installed in each of us; we just have to figure out how to turn it on. Once we do, we will seldom get off the path, but if we do, we may hear God’s quiet voice saying, “Recalculating.” And even if God leads you through a detour, don’t forget to see the beauty that is around you. There will be some, I promise. You just have to have eyes that are willing to see it. You have to fight against getting so frustrated and angry that you close your eyes and refuse to see the beauty in the problem. Plus, think of how wonderful it feels when you are in a detour and you arrive back on the main road. You breathe a sigh of relief, check your clock, and realize that it didn’t set you back as much as you thought, and when you get home or to work, you can bet you are going to tell someone about the beauty you saw along the way.

That is another important part of detours, sharing what you have learned with others. Maybe it is your job to warn them to avoid that area and to stay clear, or maybe it is your job to tell them to take the detour so they can enjoy the beauty you saw along the way. Always try to be thankful for the little bumps in the road. They make us stronger people, restore our faith, and force us to look to God. And when we look to God, we will find peace, and PEACE MATTERS.

~Dan~

This is one of my favorite handmade samplers. This one was made by Bridgett Swindle.