DETOURS AND SHORT CUTS

H

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia USA

Sometimes we are forced to take a detour when there is road work ahead. Sometimes we opt for a "short cut." But if we are not familiar with the area we could be driving a long route instead. Then there are the times when we just make dumb decisions.

We were traveling on vacation. As usual I was the map reader and navigator. This was in the days before GPS. I saw an item on the map that piqued my interest and began to describe it to my husband, the driver. "How far?" He asked. "It's only this far on the map," I said as I held up my thumb and finger indicating about 1/2 inch or less than 2 cm. I explained where to turn and he complied. I failed to mention the scale of the map I was using. The real distance was over a 2 hour drive. He was not happy when we arrived at my detoured event location. And to make it worse, we had to go back the same way to get back on the main road. He still reminds me of that side trip.

We may treat life in general that way as well. We know we should not do something. But it seems good at the time. We take a short cut, or we "jump the gun" instead of waiting for God's timing. For anyone not familiar with American idioms, picture a foot race. The race offical shoots a gun, but some runners don't wait to hear that shot. Our impulsiveness ends up costing us and slowing us down which is the opposite of what we really want. Our detour on the road of life is a lesson we learn the hard way, experience. But good news! We can use this detour to help others and we can learn ourselves not to repeat it next time. There is often a next time...take it from a detour expert! ;D