Change of Direction

I think almost every person has been on a road trip. You start out in the car with your snacks, GPS loaded and an idea of where you’re headed. The vision for the adventure ahead is clear in your mind. Off you ride into the sun, fully embracing what lies ahead.

Somewhere along the way, between dropped GPS signals and missed exits you find yourself with no idea of where you are going. That little voice from the GPS system comes on “recalculating.” It’s reminding you that you have left the previous course of direction and are heading in a new way. Maybe it’s a source of shame for you, reminding you that once again you have failed. Maybe it excites you, because you are approaching new territory. Maybe it’s just a source of frustration, an inconvenience. Life will be just fine again if only you can get that little voice to shut up.

Sound familiar?

For me it does.

I recall in the spring of 2010 when I took my one and only spring break trip during my life. My sister and I loaded up the car and drove the 10 hours to Santa Fe, New Mexico. We started in the early morning so we could beat the traffic.

Somewhere in Oklahoma we found ourselves being told that the GPS was recalculating our direction and route. According to the GPS we were offroading. The reality is that we were driving along the new highway that was still being finished. We had followed the directions, and the directions said we were wrong.

Imagine our frustration at the little box that had put us in our current predicament. Why did it not recognize where we were?

Earlier this year, I found myself in a change of direction and recalculation. I had followed the steps, listened to the directions. Yet I found myself offroading in life.

I was lost.

I had made so many plans for myself in 2025, everything was planned down to the month. I knew what to expect from the year.

Somewhere between the planning and the execution, I stumbled upon a change of direction.

The change of direction brought along a new job, a new life, a new hurt.

At first, I was very angry and frustrated. Especially at God. I knew what I was supposed to be doing, what I was called to do. At the last minute God called an audible and shifted the course of my life. He asked me to trust Him, and I did. I still do. However, for quite some time I was hurting and angry.

I didn’t understand fully why God wanted to change my direction. Part of it, I still don’t understand.

But I do know this:

This year has been nothing I wanted but it HAS been everything that I needed.

I have endured much heartache and pain in my life. I have broken myself to fit into molds and to please people only to have them walk away. I have carried the pain for far too long, and now I am learning to let go.

I am learning to heal.

I am learning to walk away from the expectations of people and live for myself.

Sometimes, a change of direction is not such a bad thing.

What will you do with the change of direction that comes your way?