A few years ago, a hurricane approached. Forecast
estimated landfall would be direct to our city which meant the probability was
high that we would be significantly impacted.
To avoid any unnecessary risk, we decided that my husband would drive my aging mother to my sister’s house in another town outside of the danger zone
while I remained home prepping for the pending emergency.
But a funny thing happened while they were on the road; the
hurricane shifted. Instead of heading toward Texas, it was heading for
Louisiana- exactly where they had intended to go. Local authorities
began to close the roads and direct those evacuating further north. After hours of being routed many different ways, they ended up on back roads that he was not at all familiar with. They were also in a cell phone dead zone. Though he didn’t know exactly where he was,
or really how he’d gotten there, he did know one thing- where he wanted to go.
Eventually, an officer granted approval for him to turn a different way so that
they could head back to Houston. Still unfamiliar with the roads, he kept
making turns that took them in the right direction. In time, they reached a
road that led home.
Has that ever happened to you? Have you found yourself
someplace in life you didn’t want to be? Perhaps you were thrown off course by
circumstances outside of your control or maybe it was caused by poor decisions
you’ve made. Either way, what is done is done. You can’t ever go back and
change the past. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have a choice about your
future.
You can stay where you are wandering in the wilderness of
life--unhappy, angry, and frustrated--far from your desired destination or you
can make a change. You can determine to move forward each and every day.
Whenever you find yourself somewhere other than where your purest self should
be, simply turn. Turn away from the dark and towards the light. Turn away from the
mire of self-loathing, turn back from the pit of acting out, and turn and run
from the chains of temptation. You won’t reach your destination immediately,
but if you continue to take steps of faith in the right direction, you will end
up on the sweet road to home.
Message for the
Journey:
Stumbling over the past is a clear indicator that you’re
facing the wrong way. You can’t move forward while looking over your shoulder.
Accept the past for where it’s brought you today, but keep your eyes- and your
feet- pointed in the direction you want to go. Not one of us can go back and
make a brand new start of things, but we can each start today to make a brand
new ending.
“No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on
this one thing. Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I
press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which
God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Phil 3:13-14
