Enjoying Life's Detours

My 2,220.5 mile trip concluded with a stop to see some of my all time favorite people in the world in South Carolina. (I wrote about the Brockinton's in June after my 5 year college reunion, if you recall.) This is the first time I have had the opportunity to visit them on "their turf" since they moved away from Wilmore, Kentucky. And what a tremendous blessing it was! We watched a soccer game (a first for me), ate completely local (no restaurant chains), made homemade pizza, worshipped at church together, walked along gorgeous South Carolina streets exploding with color. We were able to "just be," and it was exactly what I needed. As I said before, they are some of my favorite people on the planet. I love them so.

An interesting thing happened on the morning I was to leave. I woke up to get ready to leave the driveway at 8:00. Sometime in the night, however, there was a MASSIVE rock slide along I-40, which was the route I needed to take to get home. See how massive it was??

For the record, this is not my picture. I got it from a news website. I

accidentally left my fake press pass at home. HA

So, out came the Atlas, Garmin, and Department of Transportation websites to attempt to navigate a detour that would get me home a)safely and b)without tacking on 100 hours of extra drive time. As I began my journey with my new directions in hand, I realized I had a few options. I could choose to be frustrated and angry with the detour, or I could choose to enjoy it. Before leaving the neighborhood, my decision was made. I was going to enjoy the detour. Even if it took me longer to get home than I had anticipated, I was going to do whatever it took to enjoy the detour.

And, you know? I have a feeling that I would have missed out on some pretty amazing things if I hadn't made that choice. You see, because I was open to experiencing the "new" and "different" along my route, I feel I was able to allow Jesus to speak a deeper truth to what that detour would represent.

As I drove, I was very aware that I had set a goal to have 25% of my monthly funds pledged by November 1. And as of that moment, I knew I was nowhere close to it. My trip was amazing, to be sure, but it simply did not produce the "results" I had been hoping and praying for. And it was on my literal detour that I began to see that maybe, just maybe, Jesus is in the business of using detours to bring us closer to Himself. Perhaps Jesus would take me the long way to show me more of Himself. And as I have battled discouragement with where I am at this point in my support raising journey, I've come to understand that perhaps the very thing Satan desires to use to prove God isn't good is the very thing God will use to prove that He is.

So, as I drove, I was able to enjoy the detour. Because I chose to see the beauty in it. To see the beauty in the slow construction traffic giving me a chance to observe the amazingness that is Fall. To see the joy of a family enjoying a picnic under a tree in the Smoky Mountains. To see Neyland Stadium (GO BIG ORANGE!!!) in person for the first time.

And in the end, at 9:40 PM, as I pulled into my driveway, I was so glad I made the choice to enjoy the detour. A nine hour trip turned into thirteen hours, but I saw more, learned more, appreciated more, prayed more, and listened more than I would have otherwise. And I am so grateful.