detours.

Detours.

The funny thing about detours are that they are unexpected. They aren’t part of your original plan in getting somewhere. They are out of the way, and they are usually unfamiliar territory. But when you take a detour, you learn a new way. You learn something you’ve never known before. Detours aren’t wanted, but sometimes they are necessary.

Life is full of detours. I am currently in one of the biggest detours of my life. It’s a detour I never would have expected. It definitely wasn’t part of my life plan or my plan for the next year. But it’s here. I’m taking a path that I’m not used to. It’s unfamiliar territory.

What is my detour you might ask? I had to come home from Cambodia. Not forever, but for a while.

This wasn’t part of my plan going to Cambodia. Never in a million years did I think I would have to come home, but the matter of the fact is, I did have to come home. I came home for my grandmother’s funeral. But not only that, I am having to take care of some medical issues, here, before I head back across the world.

This isn’t what I wanted. It’s not wanted by any means, but I know it’s necessary. For a type-a personality like mine, it’s still hard to grasp on to this detour that wasn’t a part of my original plan. However, it’s a must.

I’m learning that in detours, comes growth. More growth is already taking place in my relationship with the Lord. Why? Because I have no choice but to trust Him every step of the way. I am having to take each day, one day at a time. I don’t know what tomorrow holds. I feel like I am playing a waiting game. So, I literally have no other option but to trust the Lord in what He’s doing. I just have to take the next step holding onto His hand.

I might not understand why this detour is taking place. But I do know WHO understands it. My Father in Heaven, the Alpha and the Omega, the Ultimate Guide, the Ultimate Physician, my Comfort, my Refuge—GOD understands it. He knows what He is doing, whether I do or not. He is FAITHFUL. He has brought me through 25 years of life, and I have seen His hand at work. That’s why I know His hand is in this. He is the Author of my life. He is writing my story. And He is writing YOUR story too!

Isaiah 55:8-9 says “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

His ways are so much higher than ours! His plans are perfect. Ours are not. He knows the big picture. We see what’s right in front of us. He is sovereign in the midst of it all.

The Lord uses detours to grow us. He uses them to build our faith and trust in Him. He uses them so we can cling to Him more. He uses them so we can fall more in love with who He is! He is good. He is faithful.