If GPS voices could really say what they felt when you missed a turn, one recent night in Boise, the unit in my rental car would have been screaming, “Hey, dummy, it’s that way!!! Turn right, turn right!!!! OK, you missed it again. Sigh.”
For some reason, following a lovely dinner with my daughter, I couldn’t seem to find my way back to the hotel.
Granted, it was late, and I’m not all that familiar with the city, this being the second time ever I’d been there. But still, it seemed like the hotel should have been straight and to the left, when somehow it was the other way and to the right.
To my surprise, instead of a quick u-turn, my GPS unit chose a different route altogether.
When I missed the hotel the second time (yes, really), the GPS rerouted me a third way, leading me back a completely different path again. This time I made it.
It struck me that God is often like this. Rather than a quick u-turn, God would rather redirect us down a different path with the same end destination in mind.
To God, it’s as much about the journey as it is the end destination. God will get you there, but if you’re not ready the first time, or you miss one of the turns, rather than taking you back the same way, God meets you where you are and leads you down a different path.
I think about the Israelites, who for 40 years walked through the desert, taking a slightly altered detour all the while having to rely upon Him for their food and safety. Turns out, a slight turn would have led them close to water the entire time, but that wasn’t God’s intention. The Israelites had something they needed to learn.
That night, during our longer-than-expected drive back to the hotel, we drove by a buffet called the Chuck-A-Rama, that left us rolling in tasteless jokes about what people must do after eating there. (For the record, I’ve never eaten there. It could be fabulous. Don’t leave me Chuck-A-Rama comments!) Once, we passed a coffee house that my daughter frequents with friends from her school, giving me a glimpse of the daily life I no longer get to see. We discussed my upcoming trip to Nepal and the mixed emotions that come with it. We went over the fear, the joy… and the inevitable topic of the sadness in no longer living there. We talked family life and what that looks like when my daughter returns in November after being gone for three months. No, it won’t be the same.
These learning moments from God can often be a frustrating and confusing time in our lives. Me, I usually just want to get to where I’m going. I don’t want to be rerouted down a different path when another seems more direct.
But this night, the five-minute u-turn would have left me missing what was more important. God knew this. God rerouted us. God still got us to our end destination safely. I’m all the better for it.