I Still Can’t Figure Out How To Get There From Here!
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.”
– Psalm 27:1, 11
Several weeks ago, I wrote about the challenges of getting to a destination in spite of all the improvements on the streets and roads on which we travel. It’s hard to let go of a subject that most of us have in common, so here’s “Part 2” on the theme. Recently, I laughed out loud when I came to a corner with a large orange sign proclaiming “Detour,” and when I looked in the direction of the detour, another, equally large orange sign stated “Road Closed.” Well, there’s a fine how-do-you-do! You get directed to a detour, and then that’s closed. It seems there are times a person just can’t catch a break. You try not to take it personally, but there are those times when it does seem there are forces in the universe just trying to complicate your life.
It’s not a great leap to compare our life journeys to our daily efforts to get from one place to another. As young people, we may have the dream of a career path, a special person to share our life, and happiness and fulfillment all our days. Real life has a way of interrupting those rosy dreams, and there may be job loss, family or personal problems, health concerns, and disappointments. These events are not all total disasters — they are what we come to understand as life experiences in the real world. They aren’t fun and they aren’t easy, but that doesn’t mean all is grim and hopeless.
Throughout the Bible, and so eloquently in the Psalms, we are told of God’s unwavering presence as we cope with the ups and downs in our lives. Finding a new way in spite of the “Road Closed” signs is a challenge, but going a different direction may lead us to the best experiences of our lives, and open up opportunities we didn’t even know existed. We can be confident that God is guiding us in a good direction, because he is faithful and steadfast in all things.
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers