Detour

Do you ever take the wrong exit? I've been driving many times and even though my GPS is practically yelling at me to take the exit, I miss it. Sometimes it feels like I'm watching it pass in slow motion all the while knowing I'm going to be rerouted or have to turn around somewhere and then life gets super interesting because you have no idea where you're going to end up, or how much time you just added to your trip. It's incredible though how much this situation relates to our every day lives.

It's fascinating how many missed exits and opportunites we have in life. We can see every sign, hear everything telling us to go a certain way, and we still miss it. I have found sometimes we purposely avoid it. Those are the moments that are full of red flags that we just ignore and tuck inside. This would be the missed opportunity for change and growth. Then there are times where we miss an opportunity and we thank God that we did. This is when we find that the detour was better than the road we were on before.

The moments we know we should exit and avoid it are tough. We fear the change that comes along with that. We sometimes stay in a place that is no longer benefiting us. I once read something that stuck with me, "if you aren't growing, you're rotting". The plant in the window that isn't being watered, no getting enough sun, slowly begins to rot. We know when something isn't right, and we let is suck the joy right out of us anyway. People in your life, situations in your life, should all be helping you grow and feel at peace with your life. If something in your life is rotting, you're eventually going to feed off that. Have you ever noticed how one peice of rotten fruit can ruin all the other fruit in the basket? It begins to mold and shed all this ickiness around. I'm convinced that negative, selfish, and unhappy people put off this same mold, and if we aren't careful, it begins to grow on us. Not all situations are easy to walk away from, but we have to work toward figuring out a way to not rot with it. Find the right time and then take the nearest exit. This may add more time to your long term goals or plans, but you will be better off for it in the end. Once you finally reach where you're going, you'll look back and wonder why you waited so long.

Those other times where we miss an opporutnity and find the detour was better than where were headed, make for some of the best times in life. We understand that wherever we were headed wasn't meant for us, because we found something better. We look back and suddenly everything makes sense. I liken this to the scenery of the backroad you end up on, or the little hole in the wall resturant with the best food you've ever tasted. Then you realize that had you not missed your exit, you wouldn't have known any of that existed. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes the path we are on isn't working and God knows we need a change of scenery, so he helps us where we just can't seem to help ourself. We look around and realize there are things in this new situation that we never even knew were possible. We might find something that we didn't even know we needed in our life. Trust this situation, embrace it.

Don't give up on yourself so much that you stay in a bad place so long that you begin to rot. At some point you have to stop lying to yourself and decide to take the nearest exit. Trust the opportunities that show you new exciting things you didn't even know exsisted. Those moments in your life can be the best moments you'll ever experience. You know before GPS I would have to call my brother in law who would have to figure out where I was based on landmarks and then help me get where I was going or back home. I'm sure road tripping with me is quite comical. I can laugh at myself though so it's all good!

You are worth all the happiness in the world. Take off the rearview mirror, buckle up and journey forward.