A Familiar Road

Last week I took a little road trip. My husband was in crunch mode at work, so the girls and I loaded up the van and headed to my mom and dad's house a few hours away. It was a really exciting time for me because I wasn't just going to see my mom and dad, I was going to drop off my kids and keep heading south for a little R&R.

It is always interesting to head to my mom and dad's house, because on the way I pass through all of the towns that my husband and I have lived in since we got married. They are all right along the same highway. The best part about it is, every time, I realize once again that I am exactly where God intends for me to be. There are things I miss about the places we have been, but I am so thankful for how far we have come.

This trip, however, took me back even further than all of the places I have been since I got married. After I dropped my girls off with my parents I kept going back in time. This road that I was taking was a very familiar road that led me through my past. I traveled the road I took for four years while I was going to college. Then I went even farther and traveled the road I took when I graduated from college and had my first real job.

It was nostalgic. It was full of memories. It made me thank God for where I am today.

I got the opportunity to see a few of my college friends. One I haven't seen for about 7 years and one for about 5, the other is my cousin so she is stuck with me. It had been way too long. It was wonderful to sit and reminisce about our college years. We talked about our lives now and our future plans. It was interesting to see how each of us has changed and how some things never do.

I also got to spend some time with my best friend from high school. She is so refreshing and real to me that I always leave spending time with her, ready to face a new day.

This road trip was so good for me. I had a lot of road time to visit with God and sing praises to Him.

When I started my drive back home, I thought about this journey I am on. When I started my first job out of college I had really big plans for myself. All of that has changed. Thankfully, I am following a bigger plan that I did not create. I thought I had life all figured out. I was going to live in a big city, have a spectacular important job in the corporate world and everything in life would just fall into place.

Everything in life has fell into place, but the puzzle is starting to fit together much differently than I expected. No matter how hard I tried, some of the pieces just didn't go where I thought they should. And the picture that is turning out as the pieces fit together is way different than the picture I was expecting to see.

The best thing is that the picture is turning out to be so much more beautiful than then one that I had in my mind. Life throws you curve balls. I intended to be a corporate executive, I am a stay-at-home mom. I thought I would live in a big city, I live in the middle of nowhere (at least that is what my family thinks).

But, God throws the best curve balls. When I strike out at something, it is because there is a much better pitch coming at me later.

One of my favorite scriptures is found in Matthew 7.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14

Last week I started to realize that in the past I was traveling along a broad road that was leading to a place I never intended to go. As I started my journey back home, the road got a little more narrow.

Thank you Jesus for leading me to the narrow gate. I love my life.


This picture is of the Missouri River, my home.

Have a wonderful week. Slow down and take a deep breath and find the narrow gate. It isn't hard to find, you just have to slow down long enough to look for it.