Thursday, February 25, 2016

A Journey, a Detour, and Snow

Wednesday, February 24, 2016, a day that will live in infamy. All right, so that is a little extreme. Yesterday was an amazing day. When I got up at my usual time, the wind was blowing and there was some rain. Nothing extreme. Just another windy early spring day. No school cancelled. No problems at all. A short time later, when I was ready for the day (dressed for chapel and worship for the day), I looked out and it was snowing to beat the band. Really, really snowing. And blowing. Wind drove the snow sideways. The ground was quickly getting white. What is this? When did this start? They said it would but we all know the weathermen have no clue what they are talking about.

Look at the Triad website. School cancelled. Really? Cancelled? A check on KMOV and yes, there it is on the list. No school. This changes everything. It changes the day. It changes the Journey of the day. Snow. More snow. More wind. The conditions continued to go downhill quickly. Good decision to not have school. Prayers for those driving to work. Difficult, perhaps even dangerous as the wind continued at outrageous gusts.

What to do about the evening? Dinner? It could be cancelled. Service? Let's hold off cancelling it. Decision time - no dinner but yes to service. We will continue the Journey to the Tomb.

But we took a detour. The plans for the day were changed. A new sermon was written. A new direction was taken. Detour. Off route. Where are we going? The selfies were shelved for the evening. A sign was put up. DETOUR! Yes, we went another direction.

Isn't that the way life is? Plans are made. Life is put together. And then detour. A new direction. One you weren't planning. Perhaps the detour is your own fault. You choose to not stay on the Journey. You prefer to go after that forbidden fruit. Or you decide to deny your Lord by living a life that you shouldn't. Detour. Peter detours. Judas detours. Both struggling once they realize that the road they chose is the wrong one.

Or maybe the detour is not of your making. Just like driving down the road and having the IDOT post the sign, tear out the bridge and sending you on a wild goose chase in a direction you were not expecting. Where are you going? How will you find your way back? How will the Journey to the Tomb continue.

God comes to you. He knows where you are. He hasn't lost you. You might be lost in your detour but He isn't. He knows where you are and what is happening. The Holy Spirit comes to you through those wonderful Means. He recalculates what it will take to get you back on the Journey. He shows you a new way. He takes you through the Valley of the Shadow. He guides you through desperate neighborhoods. He leads you through the self-righteous actions. He guides you safely back to the way you should be going.

And then you realize - this is all part of the Journey. The detours are part of this Journey. The Spirit shows you that even in the snow, the cancellations, the danger, the challenges, all the things going on in your life - it is part of the Journey to the Tomb.

So, after a detour, we continue on our Journey to the Tomb. Yes, selfies and all.

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