March 26, 2012
You have not shut me up in the power of the enemy;
you have set my feet in an open place. Psalm 31:8
I settle in to my drive through the early morning darkness. I have a ways to go to reach my destination, but I left the house in plenty of time. Besides, I know this route.
The day softly brightens as the road meanders through the small towns and woods of these gentle mountains. I inhale the beauty. Then my reverie is unexpectedly cut short by the detour sign and the orange cones that hustle me off onto a side road. I know one way to get to where I am going. This is not it.
My experience with detours along back roads is that the signage is much better suited to getting you off the beaten track than getting you back on. Even if I follow the signs, how will I know I am not driving miles through these woods in the wrong direction?
There was a time when such a moment would have trapped me in anxiety and second-guessing. But this morning it occurs to me that just because I don’t know this path does not mean my way is doomed. The pathways to my final destination must be many and various; it is only my understanding that is narrow.
The way opens before me. I can maneuver within this grace. And as I drive I cannot help but notice that along this unexpected route the forest is just as beautiful.
copyright © Anne E. Kitch 2012
