Driving through downtown where road construction has kept us zigzagging for months, I saw a detour sign that pointed straight down toward the ground. At first, I laughed, thinking that someone was playing a prank, but then I started thinking about the detours in our life.
Some detours are fun. You’re driving down the highway and see a sign for a historical landmark, shop or restaurant that has a crowd and you just have to stop. Other detours, not so much. An accident, a job loss or a death are all major life detours, but there is no sign to tell you which direction to go. You have to give yourself time to process what has happened and sort out your options.
We can also face spiritual detours. We sometimes make choices that get us sidetracked. We lose our center, take our focus off of the one who gives us perfect direction, and we can head into a valley that robs the joy from our lives.
Some detours are out of our control, but others are ours to make. When those detours occur, I am reminded and tankful that our God allows U-turns.