Wrong Turns

Ever make a wrong turn?

I did.

Actually, I missed a turn and it cost us 20 whole minutes...on a 10 hour trip.

It's a thousand wonders we all survived.

It was frustrating. I didn't blame anyone for getting upset, but no one was more upset than me. I knew instantly what I had done...because it wasn't the first time. Several years ago, I made the same mistake.

Arrrgh.

It really wasn't that big of a deal, in the grand scheme of things. I mean, we weren't really on a time crunch...we just wanted to get there.

It just started me thinking about life. We all make wrong turns in life, don't we?

Please tell me it's not just me.

Whether we make a wrong turn, or miss the RIGHT turn...we all do it.

Sometimes it's intentional...we choose to go a different way. Sometimes it's accidental. Other times, we repeat a mistake, like what I did...because we didn't learn the first time. Or because we forgot. Or because we weren't paying close enough attention.

Any way it happens, it's our faults. It's our responsibility to acknowledge it, and take steps to get back on the right road. If we don't know the right way, we need to ask someone for help.

In life, there is also a road...a path...a plan. And it's good and right and God wants us to stay on it. But sometimes we don't.

We take detours for pleasure...or short-cuts we think will make life easier.

Sometimes, we just aren't paying attention...and we are off the path before we even realize it.

There are times when we can turn sharply and get right back on track without too much trouble or damage. Other times, we are so far off course that to get back to where we are supposed to be takes time. And things have played out and words have been said and other lives have been affected.

About as important, in my opinion, is how we react when we make those wrong turns and get off the right path. Or when others do.

It's frustrating for sure. But we should never want to shame or belittle someone. We all make mistakes...it's just that sometimes we make ours in secret, right?

Not that we should overlook sin...or that there aren't consequences. Not at all.

It's just that the goal is to get back on the right path. To make the RIGHT turn.

Reconciliation.

WWJD.

Cliche? Maybe.

But I make mistakes every single day...and many times...most of the times...there are consequences. And there is discipline. But it's always done in love and with the goal being the restoration of the relationship between me and my Father...and Him helping me get back on track.

I need Him.

"Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead." Proverbs 4:25