Roadblocks

For anyone who drives and plans their trips in advance, we all know there are moments where we think things are great: everything is going according to plan, and we're confident we're going to make it right on time! What could possibly go wrong, right? ... But then, half way through the trip, there seems to be flashing lights up ahead. No, it's not an accident, at least not from what we can see, as we peer over the cars in front of us, but as we get closer we realize we've encountered a legitimate roadblock.

This scenario literally happened to me on a sunny Saturday morning in May.... Now, in this moment I had to choose how I would respond, because ultimately, I have full control and responsibility in my responses to any situation I am presented with. When I saw the roadblock these two choices ran through my mind immediately:

1. I could shout or whine, saying something along the lines of, "Are you serious?! Why they gotta block the whole road like that? I'm gonna be late, this sucks." And continue to fume, and treat this moment like it's the end of the world... ultimately shifting the outcome of my day to a potential pool of anger and discontentment....

OR

2. I could simply say "Okay.... I guess we'll take the scenic route today." Choose to trust the outcome will still be a timely arrival, in this case, and be truly thankful to hear my GPS sound off its famous line, "recalculating..." (and then, of course, write a blog about this moment).

I chose the latter, and I'm glad I did. I made it to my destination on time, and the day was still sunny by sunset.

Sometimes we may get a bad report from the doctor for yourself or a loved one; we may find it difficult to secure a job or we are having difficulty moving on to the next role or, even worse, we lose it; our friendships become complicated or seem to come to a complete halt for reasons that could have been avoided; our kids prove that selective hearing is a choice, or maybe not even our kids, but rather, our spouses... whatever the case... these are moments when we have to choose. To choose our response to the situations we're faced with.

We can become discouraged, worried, and stressed out when things don't seem to be going our way... or we can choose shift our perspective to see the potential in our problem, because roadblocks aren't all the bad. They're preventing us from encountering something that can harm us which is up ahead. However, depending on your responses which come from our hearts, I believe we may have a control issue or, as some people would call it, a "trust" issue. So if I am, do we really trust God to see us through?

This quote is from a devotional called "Facing the Unpredictability of Life" by Sherene Ellen Rajaratnam:

If you are going through a difficult time right now, if your dreams seem shattered overnight, I would encourage each of you to hang in there and look to the God who created you and who knows you better than you know yourself. He is sovereign and He will lead you through it, if you would dare to trust Him. We need to trust that all our days are ordained by this God who created us and when we look back we will be thankful that it all turned out good.

Rajaratnam couldn't have said it better. We need to trust God to see us through, and by believing in His Word we will have continued hope during our difficult circumstances. And for those moments when we or someone we know has hit a roadblock, let's not try to give them an answer or explanation as to why we have been obstructed... but rather, let's reassure each other that God is still with us in the chaos, on the detour, and that He'll provide a way around/over/under/through the struggle.

We know that God makes all things work together

for the good of those who love Him

and are chosen [called] to be a part of His plan.

Romans 8:28 NLV

~~~

When the climb is easy, the peak isn't worth reaching. 

Quitting is not an option.

- Trent Sheldon