Detours and Clouds

We don't always get all the choices we'd prefer.

Last night was one of those times for us. Driving through Oklahoma on the way home, we missed the turn for our turnpike. By the time we figured it out, we were in a stretch 7 miles from the next exit and absolutely no way to get onto the other side of the highway. The long-awaited exit bore a sign we dreaded to see: No re-entry. In other words, keep going the wrong direction; this is going to take a while. By the time we finally had the option to exit and re-enter 13 miles later, we were halfway to an alternate route home. A 2 hour trip took almost 4, but we made it.

Life often affords unscheduled detours as well. A doctor's visit with unwelcome and unexpected news. A forced job change due to downsizing. A teenager's pregnancy. A reassignment from a sending agency. We struggle with these changes the most, I think, because we feel such a helplessness, such a lack of choice.

We fail to see that these times are like the storm system I also saw yesterday -- from the backside. Like the picture above I could tell precisely where the system ended. I marveled at how sunny it was from my perspective, and how fierce the storm must look to those underneath its massive dark clouds. When we're underneath the circumstances of our life's latest detours, we see the darkness, the storm, the whirlwind. We struggle to see the handprints of God. But when we get to the other side, we can see the beauty of the clouds. We can see the detour had a purpose.

What detour are you struggling to accept today? Pray for God to give you eyes to see the sun that will signify the end of the storm. And ask Him to reveal the beauty of the scenic route.