[Tweet “There’s no such thing as a #detour in life when you’re walking with #God.”]

 Autumn’s Glory begs a Road Trip!

Jeff and I plotted a route and planned a previously undiscovered, unexplored destination: Weston, MO.  Co-ordinates were plugged into his I-phone for back-up directions.  Our main objective for the day:  soak up God’s beauty, take lots of pictures, hold hands, and celebrate his 55th birthday by exploring little shops and dining at O’Malleys Irish Pub.

I love Kansas- especially in autumn! Bearing no resemblance to the flat, never-ending plains in the Wizard of Oz- our neck of the woods in Kansas, (pardon the pun) has rolling hills, forests and fields, lots of wild life, and beauty I feast upon daily.

Road Trip! Convertible top down, sun out, sunglasses on, belted in, we zoomed off on our little adventure! Every time I gestured, Jeff would “whip” over so I could get out to take pictures of the countryside.  Laughing, and having left our cares and worries behind at the 5 mile marker sign, we were a little miffed when came upon a roadblock on our designated route.

 Detour- next 30 miles. Through traffic only.

O.K. Good thing we put in the co-ordinates to the IPhone- we can’t get lost- it has GPS. Oh yeah- right- we’re in rural Kansas. The GPS couldn’t find us.

What to do?

Follow the detour signs as best we could, turn around when we realized we missed a turn, and keep going. An hour later, we arrived in Weston, safe & sound, proceeding to have a most wonderful day.

Life throws us detours.

I don’t know about you- buy my life hasn’t really gone according to my plan!  Unexpected surprises derail our intentions, reroute our path, frustrate and interrupt our plans.

I meet change with resistance.  I PLAN things because I want them to go as PLANNED! LOL  No big deal if it’s just a road detour, but have you ever had a pregnancy you didn’t PLAN?  What about a chronic illness you hadn’t bargained for?  I’m 100 percent sure people don’t get married PLANNING for divorce!  No one PLANS miscarriages, job loss, 401 K’s biting the dust, a spouse’s death, surgery, fighting an addiction, or any tragedy.

Life Happens.  Detours take us away from our plans.  But the good news- No- the GREAT news – is this:

[Tweet “#Detours don’t surprise #God. He will #guide us to His good destination.”]

Psalm 139:3-5 (NLT version) promises a a supernatural GPS (God- Positioning-System)

 “YOU CHART THE PATH AHEAD OF ME. YOU GO BEFORE ME, YOU GO BEHIND ME, AND YOUR HAND OF BLESSING IS ON MY HEAD.”

 [Tweet “God Follower- you won’t get #lost- God has #GPS- God Positioning System.”]

God not only “charts”- (KJV says compasses) our paths, taking us in the best ways for our lives- He never loses our co-ordinates, He knows where we are every second of our life and He knows where we’re going.  In fact, He guarantees we will reach our destination safely as we trust in His guidance!

even the valleys……. even the mountains……..even the quick sand…….even the dark forests…… even the deserts……… even the rocky places……….even the detours……

But it gets better than that! The rest of the verse promises He “sandwiches” us between Himself.

He goes before us- He goes behind us- AND His hand of blessing is on our head.

(say that 10 times every day & you’ll be surprised how your perspective changes 🙂 )

Surprising Treasure:  As we give our PLANS to Him, He will PLAN every step, every breath, every detour. They are all accounted for and planned for in His Sovereign care.  He loves to “sandwich” us, surround us with His presence and place His hand of blessing on our head.