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SPIRITUAL LESSONS IN DETOURS

October 4, 2011 By Jean Wise

I live in Edon Ohio, a little village with less than 900 residents. Our homes sit on the crossroads to two state highways: north and south State Route 49 and east and west State Route 34. We head east to Bryan, our county site (shopping, work, appointments, and restaurants) and west to the wonderful lake region where many people travel to during summer.
Summer is also road construction time and guess what happened this year. The Ohio Department of Transportation decided to replace three bridges heading east out of Edon. “State Route 34 will be closed for one month,” they announced last June. 
Ok one month of finding a new way east wouldn’t be so bad, right?
Ohio winters can be tough on bridges. When the engineers started the project, they found much more damage than expected.
“State Route 34 will be closed the entire route to Bryan until November.”

What?
To make matters worse, in July State Route 34, west toward the wonderful lake region was also closed and still remains so today. Again bridge work.
When we are downtown Edon (now quit smiling when I call it downtown) we can only head north or south – almost like we are trapped by detours. Taken hostage by road signs. Our wings clipped by the irritating nuisance of having our routine disrupted. Change is not easy, is it?
Sigh.
The Department of Transportation opened a four mile stretch of State Route 34 last week and I drove on it for the first time.  Wow – how smooth it was. Hey, the end results of this inconvenience could be really nice.
Got me thinking about what I learned by all these detours this summer.
1.     I discovered new ways to get to where I wanted to go. That isn’t a bad skill to develop. I saw great farmland scenery, wild flowers I would have missed, and learned where people lived.
While I grumbled, whined, and complained, my friend Joann took the summer construction as a challenge – how many different ways to work could she find?  I like her attitude, don’t you?
2.     Every time I drove east, I arrived a good five minutes later than I planned. I didn’t like getting there late, but never remembered to plan that extra room in my schedule. Many of the back roads were winding and rough and must be driven a little slower and more carefully. Just like in life, things takes us longer than expected most of the time. And when they announced the extension of the construction, it reminded me once again we seldom know the length of life’s detours. Did it really hurt me to slow down a bit when driving? Learning a little patience and time to savor the scenery was kind of nice.
3.     And finally, in the whole view of things, did this little aggravation really matter in life? I bet on my deathbed, my last words won’t be: remember the summer of 2011 and that annoying detour. As the expression goes, if this is the worse thing to ever happen to me… right? Time to let it go and focus on what really matters in life: God, family, friends, life, health – so much to be grateful for.
“Life is just like an old time rail journey … delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.” –Gordon B. Hinckley

A detour.  An opportunity to see things anew. Not always the way we look at road construction, but this summer did remind me of lessons I needed to relearn.
And such is life.

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Comments

  1. blankJean Wise says

    October 5, 2011 at 11:15 pm

    Your nice comments have really made my day. I am so glad you stopped by and read my words.

  2. blanktcsoko says

    October 5, 2011 at 4:47 pm

    I feel like every route home from work has road works and delays on it at the moment – tomorrow I will take a deep breath and enjoy the view instead of fuming at the guy with the red flag!

  3. blankMary B says

    October 5, 2011 at 10:56 am

    This is SO true. I find that the “detours” in my life are often the times that I learn the most and grow in Him.

    Hopped over from Hear it on Sunday and so glad I did!

  4. blankPhather Phil Malmstrom says

    October 5, 2011 at 12:58 am

    Isn’t it amazing Jean, what we can learn from our “aggravation” when we open ourselves to God’s direction? 🙂

    So many Blessings all around us…

    Have a Blessed Day!

  5. blankJen says

    October 4, 2011 at 8:27 pm

    I love love love your reflections. So much of life would be easier if I quit looking at detours and inconveniences and rather, more time to savor something new.

  6. blankJean Wise says

    October 4, 2011 at 5:08 pm

    LOL that Ohio is like Pa. With our getting older highway system, the Orange Barrel Polka is what many drivers face. Thanks for commenting.

  7. blankaseedinspired.com says

    October 4, 2011 at 3:36 pm

    ohio is a lot like PA in that regard….welcome to Pa would you like to see our backroads? should be our state slogan.
    T

  8. blankNancy says

    October 4, 2011 at 2:47 pm

    The discovery of new ways to get where I want to go–that really is a valuable lesson, isn’t it? Thanks for this, Jean.

Healthy Spirituality – a sacred space to nurture your faith, grow closer to God, and belong to a community, walking together on life’s journey. This blog is written by author, speaker and retreat leader Jean Wise

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