"Return to the nearest road..."

Have you ever been on a long trip and everything is going great, but then all of the sudden you hear "return to the nearest road" repeatedly coming from that stupid plastic box on your mantle? Or what about those signs that read "Rough Road Ahead" or "Uneven Pavement"?

You get the car loaded up with everything that you need- clothes, sunblock, toiletries, snack... everything on the packing list is checked off and you are sure that nothing could go wrong. So you hop in the car and back out of your driveway, only after plugging your destination into your brand new GPS, ready for an adventure. Everything is going great and then you look down to see that you are running extremely low on gas, meanwhile you know there is no gas station for another 15 miles. If you are anything like me, you are now running all kinds of math problems through your head trying to figure out just how much gas is left in your tank and how far that gas will take you, all the while thinking how stupid you were to not fill up last night. Finally, after what seems like a miracle from God, you pull into the gas station running purely on fumes. You get back on the road and things are going great! The GPS has an ETA of 1 hour before you originally planned, meaning you can just sit back and relax. Yep- relax in the traffic that just randomly showed up out of the middle of nowhere, and the man on the radio says you are about 10 miles back from the accident that caused the backup. Forty-five minutes later, you are moving again and irritated that you lost your bumper time, but it is smooth road ahead. Finally, you are almost to your hotel! You take the new bypass to get you there 10 minutes faster (your best friend told you about this, so of course you are going to take it!) and all of the sudden the GPS is screaming at you "return to the nearest road" and has no idea where you are, yet you paid $300 for the fancy one with the unlimited updates...

Doesn't that sound a lot like your year so far? In some cases the problems aren't too extreme, and others make you wish you had only run out of gas because that would have been so much easier. We always think we know what is going to happen and we always plan for any problem that could take place, including remembering to take the new bypass. Just when we think we are in the clear though, that crazy man upstairs decides that the nice neat road in front of us needs to be repaved, causing us to have to slam on the breaks. But WHY???

Maybe God is hoping that we will take advantage of these hard times and turn to him for a minute- even if we are praying that our 1/2 gallon of gas will take us the 25 miles that a full gallon barely does, it gets us putting our focus back on what is most important. Maybe you might just realize that no matter how long you listen to the traffic report on the radio, you will still be stuck 10 miles back and won't make it home in time for dinner so you turn it off and finally notice the gorgeous blue sky above you and say a little thanks to the creator.

The really insane thing? These times aren't just during road trips. That call you got from your parents today saying that your grandparents aren't doing well? Time to look to God. What about the customer that came in and took up an hour of your time, only to leave empty handed? Thank God for the opportunity to meet that customer. Even when you couldn't find that last nickel to pay for your Diet Coke at McDonalds- thank God for the fact that you are only short a nickel and not the drink or even the meal. These road traps are gifts from God, meant for us to stop for a second and remember what we are most thankful for and thank the one responsible for it.

Yea, you are out of gas- but you can still afford to put some more in the car, even at $4.00/ gallon.
You got stuck in traffic? Be thankful that you have a family you are going home to, or a vacation waiting ahead of you.
The GPS didn't update? Enjoy the view and adventure, thanking God for all that you see.

Get it? Got it? Thank God!