Going Home Another Way

My 5 year old son Will and I had just left the store ordering his birthday cake for this week. The parking lot was full with cars waiting while their owners shopped and other cars were turning in to find a spot to park. The congestion was thick as smoke just in trying to get out of the parking lot. When I got to the intersection, I saw the traffic and knew what I had to do to get out--I needed to go another direction in order to get home at a decent time.

"I thought you said we were going home?" Will asked from his booster seat. "We are going home," I said. He paused for a few seconds. "But this isn't how we normally go home," Will said. "Sure, we can get home going this way," I said. "Just wait and see." Another minute passed and Will was still confused. "But mom, this is NOT the way home," he said. "Trust me, son. We can get home going this way," I answered. Within minutes, we made it to a place familiar to Will. "Oh, I see where we are now," he said. "You were right, mom. You DO know how to get us where we need to go!"

How many times in your life have you felt like God was leading you down a road that had a posted sign which read "Wrong Way"? Galatians 5:16 says, "Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want."

God sees what's ahead and knows the congestion, the slow downs and the delays to achieving His will in your life. He knows which detours and back roads to lead you on. We must fight the urge to jump out of the moving car, even when the scenery doesn't look right. There may be times when you look out the window of your life and think, This doesn't look familiar, God. I think you took a wrong turn in my life because this makes no sense. I thought you said you had a plan for me? A plan to prosper and not harm me?

But God is the driver and leans over to you in the back seat and says, I know exactly where I want to take you. It may be the long way around to you, but it's a direct path to Me. So, trust Me.

The next time you feel like God drove you to a dead end street, trust the One who created the map!

(There are only 1,200 copies remaining of Barbie's new book, "Carry An Umbrella When There's No Rain in the Forecast: 365 Days of Living by Faith". They are available at stores in Jackson, Kosciusko, Brookhaven, Mendenhall, Batesville, McComb & Yazoo City. Barbie will also be signing at the Indianola Pecan House in Indianola this coming Saturday from 11am-1pm. You can also purchase her books at www.barbiebassett.com .)