I try to embrace new
technology. I have found that sometimes
new technology gets it wrong.
When traveling, we use GPS to get to
our destination. Sometimes, we run into detours, taking us longer to get there.
We were to meet another couple for dinner. We put the address in the GPS and
headed out. We found ourselves in a sparsely populated area. While driving by
an empty field, the voice said, “You have arrived.”
Sometimes, detours lead to a street
full of potholes, which is not the quality of the original highway. Had we
stayed on the original road longer, we would have reached our
destination earlier. Yogi Berra said, “When you come to a fork in the road,
take it.”
That’s a metaphor for life. The
roads we take make up the material of our stories. Without journeys, we have no stories.
I think God looks at detours
differently. It’s probably because of His
viewpoint; His perspective is broader and more complete. Have you walked through a junkyard? Put that on your bucket list. Bent metal, broken glass, rust. It’s not exactly a scene you want to
paint. Now, fly over that junkyard on a
sunny day. You discover a mosaic of
colors surrounded by sparkling flashes of light. The yard hasn’t changed, your perspective
has.
As younger people, we haven’t traveled
long enough for many detours. When you reach my age, well let me say, I’ve seen
more than I can count. What are some of
the detours of life? Detours of addiction, estrangement, betrayal, health,
grief, loss. Not all detours are
bad. I was working in a church when I
was handed a detour. The next thing I
knew, I was a police chaplain. I didn’t
see that coming, and neither did the officers.
That department never had a chaplain before and I never worked with
cops. We cautiously looked at each other
for a while, until I had opportunities to show my value. As a result of that detour, I have had
lifetime experiences that most people haven’t.
When reaching our destination, the
detours don’t matter when destinations are places and people we love. They are valuable installments to our
stories.
Ultimately, heaven is my
destination. Until I get there, there is
still a lot of material, and detours, to teach me about life.
