intersections

I was riding my bike today, and I came to an intersection. None of the ways I could go looked any better than the other. I turned left and kept going. A while later, I ended up at the intersection again, having just made a loop. Then I turned right. And that road led me home. So what was the point of the left turn? It didn't take me where I needed to go. What good did it do? Well, that extra time helped me get just a little stronger, and it helped me get a better understanding of the right direction. It was extra work, but it made getting home even sweeter.

I used to think there was only one perfect way each of us was supposed to go in life. If we missed it, we lost our chance at true happiness or fulfillment. But if that were true, and just one person missed it, that would probably trigger a domino effect and we would all be hopeless. Here's what I have come to believe: God gives us choices, and within those choices could be good, better, and best. Of course there is also the possibility of choosing something not good, but that can be avoided if we are really trying to follow God; and if we are ignorant of what we chose, we learn soon enough.

What will lead us to the best? I suppose it's the time, the work, getting a better understanding, and turning. Overriding all of this proves to be prayer, which in time always brings direction. All that is left to do then is to listen.  C.S. Lewis once said, "If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back the fastest is the most progressive man."

These are just the humble thoughts of someone who has made a lot of wrong turns, who is stronger from the turning, and who after it all is still seeking out the best.