Detour
We’ve all seen the sign “Detour Ahead”. Usually it comes at the most inopportune times – like when we are late for a meeting or in a hurry to pick up the kids. Rarely do we see a detour as a blessing. Most of us probably see it as an inconvenience at best and punishment at worst.
What if we could look at detours a different way? Instead of viewing them as an inconvenience, perhaps we could see them as a blessing. “Blessing?”, you say, “How is that possible?” Most of us think about blessings in terms of what God ‘gave us’. And while that is certainly a big part of the blessing, it isn’t the whole story. Maybe we can look at blessings from a different perspective- like the things God KEPT from happening. Maybe a delay at a red light caused me to miss the drunk driver that ran a stop sign that I would have been at had the delay not occurred. Perhaps the detour through the back streets I didn’t want to go on (but was forced to) made me just a few seconds later, thereby missing the child that came darting out into the street.
I’m of the opinion that God’s love cannot be measured simply by the things He does. I think His love should also be measured by the things He doesn’t allow to happen. I am SO glad that my ninth-grade girlfriend ‘broke-up’ with me; had she not, I wouldn’t be married to my incredible wife, Kim, today. My girlfriend breaking up with me was a detour, but it sure was worth it!
