Hello, my name is Meredith Miller. I am married to a beautiful woman named Elizabeth. We have four wonderful children and three fantastic grandchildren. I have a Doctorate in Theology and a Ph.D in Religion. I have been in the ministry for 30 years and a pastor for over nine years. I really enjoy life and the opportunities that I have had in trying to help others during difficult periods in their lives. Author Link: Personal Website: http://www.millerdoctorofphilosophy.com
One of the things in life that I have really enjoyed is when the opportunity would come to travel and go on a vacation. Either a long vacation or it may be just a short mini-get-a-way. I have learned that sometimes a quick mini vacation is better for me and my family instead of a long vacation, such as a week or longer. One year my wife and I went out west, and in ten days, we drove through twelve states. Now, both of us thoroughly enjoyed aLL of the beauty that we saw, which of course, most of it was seen from within our car. By the time we finally came home, I felt as though I needed another week off just to re-cooperate from our relaxing vacation. Does this sound familiar? Well, I promised myself to never do this again.
But, to me there is a thrill in hitting the road, stopping somewhere to spend the night, eating out at different restaurants. Sometimes my wife and I will see a advertisement on the highway that will spark our curiosity and we will stop and see what it is all about. However, in the back of my mind, is the desire to get back on the road and head to where we have planned to spend a few days. I admit that I don't mind stopping to see different things or check out other attractions while on our way to where we are headed, but I carry in my mind a rigid schedule which I am determined to keep, and I rarely allow any type of flexibility in what I intend on doing. Yet, I have learned of one thing that will change your route of travel and that is when you come upon the dreaded detour!
Now, what is so frustrating about these detours is that they are not like a four-way stop giving you a choice of which way to turn, but, a detour simply has only one way that you must go. You are going to change your route whether you like it or not. Yet, there have been times that we have seen the beauty of different areas, which we would of never considered even going in that direction or that route, but were forced to do so because of a detour.
Boy, this sounds alot like life itself. How many times have I had my life all mapped out. Had the route that I had planned to travel on all figured out. Then, just when everything on this route appeared to be going great, what would happen? I came across the dreaded detour. These particular periods in my life have always been very frustrating for me, because these detours would force me to make a turn in my life that I had not planned on nor wanted to do. However, as hard as it may seem to believe, I have discovered the beauty of different areas in my world that I would of never known to be there if it had not been for the dreaded detour in my life. Furthermore, I wouldn't have certain blessings today, if it were not for a detour, that forced me to go another route that was not on my agenda. Let me give you a great example of what some of these blessings are that I have received as a result of a detour in my life. I would of never seen the beauty that awaited me in meeting a wonderful woman who would later become my beloved wife. Also, I would of never known the joy of having the wonderful family that I have been blessed with. I may not of had the opportunity to pastor a church, have the friends in my current world, plus many other benefits in my life. So, I know in my heart that I have all these blessings all because of the detour that came on the road that I was on. Now, I can honestly say that I can look back on my road of life and thank God for my route being changed.
Do the detours ever stop? I am sorry to tell you that the answer is no. I presently have another detour in front of me, that is requiring me to go into another unchartered road. But, based on past performances, I believe that I will encounter more beauty and blessings in my life that are waiting for me to see.
Don't be afraid or frustrated when the road that you are on is interrupted by a detour. Don't spend a lot of time trying to figure out or understand why this has happened to me. There may come a day that you will be thankful for all the blessings, the beauty that you have discovered on your different route in life, which you would of never known, and you will say in your heart as I have said before in times past, I am thankful for the detour that brought me here.
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