March 7, 2010          "Detours"

      Detours.   We’ve all experienced them.  We all dislike them.  Regardless of the reason for a detour, I have yet to ride with a driver who, when they first see a detour sign up ahead, reacts with, “Oh boy, a chance to travel roads I’ve never been on before through territory I’m unfamiliar with!”  Instead, most of us respond to the news of an impending detour with feelings of anxiety over possibly getting lost, frustration at having to go out of our way, or impatience at having to slow down or be delayed in reaching our destination.  Most of the time it seems we also are likely to question the wisdom or intelligence of the ones responsible for the detour route. 

      Some detours are fairly short while others require making several turns and traveling on many different roads.  Some involve sitting at temporary traffic lights while others may cause us to creep slowly along with lots of other perturbed travelers.  But in every case, the purpose of the detour is to get us around an obstacle or possible hazard so that we arrive safely at our destination.  Often there are hidden blessings and treasures available to us along the way if we can just put our agitated feelings aside to see them. 

       Many times we get detoured on our journey through life.  We have our dreams and make our plans for how we’re going to get to where we want to be in life.  But very few people ever make it all the way through life without detours such as finding out college isn’t for them, not getting a job in their desired field, broken relationships and failed marriages, unexpected pregnancies and financial hurdles. 

      Discounting the detours we cause ourselves by poor choices and actions, often God has arranged the detour.  Although we may be anxious at the uncertainty of what a new future might hold, although we might get frustrated and impatient at having to take a longer way to reach our goals, although we may question the wisdom of the different route we must take, in every case God’s purposes in the detours in our lives are to get us around obstacles we could not navigate on our own and to protect us from dangers that we could not overcome ourselves.  And, more times than not, God even provides extra blessings and treasures for us along the route of the detour. 

      Come and join us here at Stewartstown United Methodist Church where we are trusting God to guide us through this life, detours and all, so that we arrive safely in heaven.