Leaving the alternate route

There are many rotaries where I live, but there’s this one very near my home that is especially troublesome. Accidents are commonplace, and I became one of those statistics a few months ago. It was just a fender bender (thank you, Lord), and I was okay, but it was very jarring. For a while I wouldn’t even drive past that spot. I would go 20 minutes out of my way just to avoid it, because it filled me with dread and fear.

Then, one day, I decided I needed to face that collision point. I needed to face that bad memory. It was interfering with my productivity. It was eroding my confidence.  

Whew-it was not fun. I prayed for the Lord to be with me, and then I did it. I drove on that rotary again. And then again, and again. And again.

And now I don’t have that pit in my stomach when I approach it. I’m definitely extra cautious, and probably always will be, but I can pass by it now instead of avoiding it. That rotary now takes me directly to where I need to go again instead of detouring me.

Friends, it’s so easy to let past events and bad memories sidetrack us…to make us take the long way around. Without realizing it we can build our whole lives around that alternate route. We can get so comfortable on that safe path that we forget there’s a bolder way to live.

What are your crash sites? What are the discouraging words or events in your life that have caused you to reroute your path? I know I’ve had my share.

When the Lord told me to do my new album and to paint again, I resisted. I didn’t believe I had it left in me to create the body of work that is now Herald. I thought I was finished with those kinds of pursuits, even though they were very much still in my heart to want to do. I thought it was just too late.

How did I work through it? I had to revisit some old crash sites. I had to lay some stuff down. And I had to walk over that stuff to get to a place of peace and possibility. It’s then that my creativity really reemerged.

Bottom line here, friends: it's time to face former disappointments and fears and use them as a bridge to get us to something greater. It’s time to resurface our bold dreams. It’s time to reclaim our creativity. It’s time to move forward. No more getting stuck on the alternate route. It’s not too late.

Reflection Questions:

What are your crash sites?

What are the discouraging words or events in your life that have caused you to reroute your path?

How can you bring these events to the Lord and ask the Holy Spirit for renewal and healing?

Psalm 147:3 NIV He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.