Detour Ahead.......

So I was driving down 23 yesterday and most of you know no matter what direction you travel north or south on 23 there is construction. I was feeling very impatient and frustrated with the traffic because of the construction and the fact that i was stuck behind a semi. I had somewhere to go and I didnt want anything getting in my way. I was convinced at that moment those ugly orange barrels and a very slow semi were in fact ruining "my plans." I mean sure in the end i'm sure whatever they were trying to accomplish would make things easier for travelers but for now it was just an annoyance i didnt have time for.

I kept thinking about that and how much it represents our lives. We all have this ideal journey we want to travel on. The perfect marriage, the perfect friendships, the perfect house...car...kids...job..and so on but when is life ever that perfect??? If it were would we really appreciate the blessings in front of our eyes??? If everything in life was easy would we ever appreciate the journey. So we often find ourselves traveling through life on the path that we think is the best. But often i think God uses those construction sites and roadblocks to teach us something. I think we get so caught up in doing things our way that we often breeze through life forgetting the things that really matter.

After awhile God decides "she just isnt getting it" so he puts a little construction in our paths to make us slow down and reevaluate where we are going. He uses those ugyly orange barrels to dirrect us and those slow semi's to teach us patience. Even in consturction there are always distractions....bumps, road signs, and changing speed limits but God often puts people and things in our path to help guide us. Those consturction workers are out there for a reason they help us along our journey to know whats ahead....to stop when we should or slow down when we need to be alert to whats ahead. Everyone hates detours because its and inconvienence and it takes us out of "our way" the way that we had set we needed to follow. But it always seems to me that on those detour routes we end up seeing or experiencing something we woudlnt have otherwise. 1 Corinthians 2:9 "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind can imagine the plans that God has for those who love Him."

How many times have you felt like God was taking you on a detour in life??? I know i have, especially lately. But I have found in the midst of the chaos and construction going on that God has a plan and a purpose to open my eyes and take in new sights and experiences around me that if I was traveling "my way" i wouldnt ever get to experience. Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Next time you are faced with construction, or a detour in life ask yourself what is God trying to show me....what have I been too hurried up to see this whole time.